


Merely a Scratch

by SassyAngel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-06-01 18:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 35,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6530992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyAngel/pseuds/SassyAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Injured and hurt, it's up to Chat Noir to take care of Ladybug.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was a dark and dreary night, one Marinette would come to regret. She, as the brave and heroic Ladybug, was fighting alongside Chat Noir against an akumatized civilian on inside of an abandoned, cluttered building filled with old, rotting items left behind and discarded by the many people in Paris. Marinette unfortunately only had minutes before she was going to transform again, having used her lucky charm to save some civilians from the akuma. 

If Marinette had to guess, he was a metal smith. The akuma gave Magnetico the ability to bend and control metal and considering the vast amount of things made of metal, this was a challenge. Chat was fighting hand to hand against the villain, deciding to put away his metal staph and avoid losing his weapon. 

Ladybug threw her yoyo towards Magnetico, hoping to trap him or at least distract him long enough for Chat to take his smithing hammer (where the akuma was hiding). Magnetico, however, blocked the yoyo with a sheet of scrapped metal, and kicked Chat Noir in the stomach, sending him flying. The yoyo bounced off, getting caught in one of the many heaps of junk left behind. 

“Well isn’t this just great!” She muttered, struggling to retrieve her yoyo. Meanwhile, Cat Noir groaned falling unconscious. 

“Take his miraculous while Ladybug’s distracted!” Magnetico heard a booming voice in his head. 

“Gladly.” He grinned before beginning to smith a blade from the scraps of metal lying around. Marinette, seeing this, desperately tugged on her yoyo trying to free it from the rubble. There was no time. 

It all happened so fast… The blade swinging towards Chat; Ladybug’s frantic running; the sword tearing through skin; the blood dripping painfully. 

Chat Noir, having finally awoken, was confused. He a small pain on his arms, where his beloved Ladybug was digging her fingers in. “Ladybug?” He asked uncertain. “Can’t get your paws off me hmm?” He tried flirting, he knew Ladybug would retort with something witty but she didn’t. Instead she slowly looked up at him, and he saw pain in her eyes. 

Ladybug just barely made it, she took the hit for Chat. She was leaning on top of him, holding him tightly. She was glad he was safe, she couldn’t bear to lose him. “Sorry Chat.” She said smiling. 

“Good work Magnetico, now take their miraculous!” Magnetico smiled, withdrawing his forged blade from Ladybug earning a whispered yell, and prepared it for a second attack. Chat finally understood what had happened: his Lady protected him.

Ladybug forced herself to stand up, Chat followed her example. “Let me handle this.” He said. 

“Distract him, I have to get my yoyo.” She said looking at her yoyo, still stuck in the rubble. 

“No, you should sit down, you’re injured…” Ladybug simply smiled, before running towards the rubble. She wasn’t going to be useless. She started untangling the mess of the pile, hoping to release her weapon. She felt herself lose energy quickly, becoming weaker and weaker with each passing moment. 

Chat Noir, deciding not to let his Lady down, attacked Magnetico who began to swing his metal blade around. Chat was furious, and no metal blade could contain his rage. “Cataclysm!” He yelled, launching himself towards Magnetico. Luckily, he scratched the hammer destroying it and releasing the akuma just as Ladybug rescued her yoyo. 

“No more evil doing for you little akuma.” She started her usual chant, launching her yoyo at the akuma and trapping it. “Time to de-evilize.” She always found that funny, de-evilize was a hilarious word for her but today it wasn’t funny. “Bye bye little butterfly.” She whispered weakly as she released the beautiful white butterfly. “Miraculous Ladybug.” She threw her yoyo to the sky, letting it fix all of the damages done by Magnetico, but unfortunately not hers. She extended her fist towards Chat, maybe she could pass it off as a minor injury but she knew he wouldn’t believe her. 

“Ladybug…” He started. Padybug sighed and dropped her fist, her body screaming in pain. She started to swerve a bit, losing her footing but she caught herself and leaned on the wall. Her miraculous beeped… She no longer had the energy to be Ladybug, and barely enough to be Marinette. 

“Looks like I have to go Kitty.” She smiled softly. “I’ll see you around…” She started to weakly throw her yoyo, but was interrupted by Chat. 

“I’m taking you to the hospital.” Ladybug’s eyes widened. “I know, your secret. I’m sorry but your life is worth more.” And with that he picked her up, not letting her argue. She tried to get off but she was too weak to resist. “You can trust me.” 

“Where am I?” The no longer akumatized smith asked, finally waking up from his daze. Chat glared at him, akumatized or not he injured his sweetheart. Chat knew he couldn’t put the blame on the poor guy, but who else could he blame for this? He took his Ladybug away from there, and into an isolated place making sure no one but him would see her transform. 

“Chat… Please…” His Lady implored, she hated being so weak and accepting Chat’s help would only make her feel worse. She didn’t want to bother him, but she knew Chat had a point. 

“It’s ok Bugaboo, you can trust me.” He smiled softly. “There’s no one but me here. You can transform back, and I’ll take you to the hospital. Cat’s honor.” It was a good plan, and Ladybug knew that. She sighed and gave in.

“O…kay Chat.” She whispered, her eyes losing focus. “Just… Just don’t… Be too… Dis…a…ppointed.” She slurred. Her earrings beeped furiously, and she began to transform back into the awkward teenage girl she was whenever she wasn’t Ladybug. She took a deep, painful breath, closing her heavy eyes slowly. 

“Stay awake princess.” He said, beginning to take her to the hospital worried as Marinette lost consciousness. Once close, he too transformed back… Making sure there would be no connections between him and Ladybug. 

It was only after he rushed her inside the hospital, only after he saw the paramedics take her to the emergency room, and only after he could no longer do anything for her that he realized who Ladybug really was. “Marinette…” He whispered unable to believe his lady was one of his good friends. He hated this… He was so close to losing not one, but two of the people he cares about.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette woke up in a state of confusion. She didn’t know where she was, nor why she felt pain on her left shoulder. She couldn’t remember why her room was white, and she didn’t understand why her best friend, Alya, was staring at her with tears in her eyes. 

“A-lya?” Her voice was rough, her throat groggy, it felt as though she hasn’t spoken in days. She hasn’t. 

“Marinette!!” Alya cried. “Don’t you dare scare me like that again girl!” She yelled. Marinette winced, trying to remember what had happened. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, still not in complete control of her voice. She looked around and realized something… She was in the hospital. She faintly remembered what happened… She remembered getting stabbed while fighting against an akuma. She remembered being taken to the hospital but she couldn’t exactly remember by whom… Of course she doesn’t have to remember to know it was Chat Noir, considering he was her partner. 

“I’ll go and call your parents! And tell everyone you’re awake!” Alya said wiping the tears off her delicate tanned face. “Everyone’s going to be so relieved… I can’t believe an akuma attacked you!” Marinette blinked… So Chat must’ve come up with a cover story. 

“Yeah! Me neither… Alya before you go… I don’t remember much, can you tell me what happened?” Alya nodded softly.

“I don’t know much but according to the doctors, Magnetico was attacking Paris and you somehow got…” Alya didn’t want to say it and Marinette understood. “Chat Noir and Ladybug stopped him and had someone bring you here they didn’t say who.” Alya explained. “But what’s important is that you’re okay.” She smiled looking at Marinette, someone Alya wouldn’t bear to lose. 

“Thanks Alya.” Marinette smiled back. Alya slowly walked out of the room, uncertain on whether or not she was willing to leave her best friend alone. 

Soon, after Alya had left, Tikki came out. “Marinette!” She said hugging Marinette with har small arms. “Oh Marinette I was so worried.” She whispered softly. “Are you okay??” Marinette slowly lifted up a hand and comforted Tikki. 

“I’m alright Tikki.” She said, ignoring the pain in her left shoulder. Marinette soon heard footsteps coming her way. “Quick, hide Tikki!”

The door opened just as Tikki hid, a doctor and two nurses came in and checked in on Marinette. They asked her questions regarding what happened, and she responded with a montage of half truths and excuses. They decided she would be ready to leave the hospital in a day or so. They then left, and the room was filled with Marinette’s parents, Alya, Adrien and Nino. They talked for a while, everyone seemed happy. Marinette smiled awkwardly at Adrien, and everyone else, glad to see them. Alya filmed the whole event, Nino played some music and Marinette’s parents hugged their daughter and treated her to a hefty amount of baked goods. It was quite the reunion, but eventually it became night and everyone had to leave… Marinette was alone again. 

“Tikki?” Marinette asked, but Tikki didn’t come out. 

“I don’t know who Tikki is, but… I’m here.” Marinette was startled by the random voice coming from her room. She looked around trying to find the source of the voice and soon found Chat Noir hidden in a corner. Marinette waved at him, uncertain about what to do. 

“Uh, hi.” She muttered. Chat slowly walked towards her. 

“How are you?” He asked, sitting down on the bedside. 

“I’m alright.” Marinette sheepishly smiled, not quite positive if he knew she was Ladybug or not. 

“I know.” He said, almost as if he could read her mind. “Marinette, why’d you take the hit for me?” His eyes averted hers, ashamed for letting his sweet get harmed. 

“It was either you or me Chat, I wasn’t just about to let you die.” Marinette didn’t even hesitate in her answer, to her it was an obvious one. “I rather not lose my parter.” She smiled softly. 

“And I don’t want to lose mine!” He raised his voice, cracking it. He cleared his throat, finally looking at her. “I don’t want to lose you My Lady.” Marinette frowned softly, she started to remember the events of the fight. She remembered how she got her yoyo stuck, and was unable to help Chat Noir. Seeing her like this broke Chat’s heart, how could he have let this happen? 

“Chat?” Marinette’s voice was calm, but had a hint of uncertainty. Chat looked at her, paying attention to everything she did. “I…” She wanted to apologize for having failed him this badly… “I… I’m glad you’re alright.” She said instead, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the soft pillow. ‘Coward’ she thought to herself. Chat blinked, and nodded softly. 

“Marinette, I… I think you should know who I am.” He said softly. “Open your eyes.”

“No Chat, just because you know my identity doesn’t mean it’s okay for me to know yours. If something were to happen, especially now since I can’t…fight…” Marinette paused for a bit, dawning on the concept of being unable to fight. “…I might not be able to keep your secret.” She finally said. Chat understood. 

“Well, when you’re up and running again I’ll tell you Princess.” He smiled softly. Marinette opened her eyes and looked at him. 

“Even then I shouldn-“ 

“It’s my secret to tell Marinette, and I trust mew.” He winked, Marinette blinked and then laughed. He really could make the stupidest of puns. 

“Alright Chat.” Marinette poked Chat’s bell playfully. He smiled, glad to see the confident Ladybug he knew. 

“Well, get your beauty sleep Marinette. I’ll see you soon.” Chat spoke softly, placing a hand on top of Marinette's before exiting through the window. Tikki finally got out of her hiding place and floated in front of Marinette looking at the window. 

“He’s really nice.” She commented, Marinette nodded. “But he’s also right, you should get some rest.” Marinette smiled, closing her eyes. 

“Alright, goodnight Tikki.”

“Goodnight.”


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien waited agitated in his seat, he knew Marinette was returning to school today and wanted to see how she was. He was eager to talk to her, knowing she was Ladybug… His Ladybug. He always thought fondly of Marinette, he even liked her but never dwelled on his feelings, devoting his love only for Ladybug. 

Marinette seemed confident, but always stuttered when he was around for some reason. She was kind and genuinely cared for others. He admired that about her, realizing those were traits Ladybug had as well. 

When Marinette finally entered the room, his heart sank. She wore a soft smile, one she usually wore with more energy, she was quite pale and looked like the definition of exhausted. She was wearing an arm sling, probably to reduce the movement on her shoulder and help it heal faster. Her hair was the beautiful hue he admired, but it was let down instead of in the usual pig tails… Adrien figured she couldn’t put them up with a single hand. Marinette staggered to her seat, showing great effort to just walk. Adrien felt bad seeing her so run down. 

“Girl, shouldn’t you be resting at home?” Alya asked as Marinette sat down. 

“No way! You know me.” Marinette smiled softly. “I can’t just stay home and do nothing! Besides, I already missed five days of school.” Adrien frowned, that’s something Ladybug would say. 

“Dude are you cool?” Nino asked, noticing Adrien’s frown. 

“Yeah man, I’m good.” He smiled. Nino started talking about a party he was going to DJ, Adrien nodded listening a bit but every now and then eavesdropping on Marinette's conversation. 

“How’s your shoulder?” Alya glanced at the sling. “And don’t you dare lie to me Marinette! I’ll know if you do.” She grinned as Marinette chuckled. 

“Well, honestly… I can’t feel anything now. The medication’s really, really, REALLY strong. But according to the doctors it’s healing nicely.”

“Alright, class is starting!” Caline Bustier, the class’s teacher, said clapping her hands to get the class’ attention. “First of all, welcome back Marinette! If you need to go to the nurse just tell me.” Marinette nodded. “Now, let’s quickly go over the materials of the last few days.” Ms. Bustier then began teaching. Marinette paid close attention but Adrien couldn’t focus. His thoughts were on Marinette and how she seemed so frail. 

Class soon ended, and Marinette was getting ready to come home. Adrien finally turned around, deciding to speak to Marinette. “Hey Marinette!” He said calmly. “How are you?” marinette blinked, flustered that Adrien was talking to her. 

“I’m… F-fine!” She blurted out, not quite as energetic as usual but still showing a higher amount of energy than before. Adrien smiled, glad Marinette wasn’t too different. 

“Your hair looks nice down, you should keep it like that sometimes.” Marinette blushed and nodded. 

“Thanks.” She mumbled. Honestly, she didn’t like having her hair down since it was always such a hassle to deal with and sometimes covers her face. 

“You’re going home right?” Marinette nodded. “Want me to help you carry your bag?” She blinked not quite believing what just happened. Adrien just asked her if he could take her home. 

“Oh you’re nice! I mean that would be nice!!!” Marinette mentally cursed herself. Alya chuckled silently beside her. “Thank you.” Adrien smiled, glad he could spend some time with her, some time with Ladybug. 

“Wow Marinette, that’s low even for you!” Chloe said. “Taking advantage of poor Adrien just because your arm hurts.” She snickered. 

“Chloe,“ Adrien started, “she’s been through a lot.” Marinette normally would stand her ground against Chloe, retorting anything she said to her… But today Marinette just couldn’t be bothered, she was too exhausted to care and too tired to try. She picked up her bag and smiled sweetly. 

“Actually I think I’ll head home alone. Thank you anyways.” Marinette would normally die for a chance to walk home with Adrien, but now she just didn’t want to deal with all of the exhausting, unnecessary drama Chloe would bring. “Bye.” She waved as she walked outside. 

Adrien stared at her, realizing he just lost an opportunity to spend time with Ladybug… Marinette. “Why don’t you walk me home instead Adrien?” Chloe said with a sickly sweet tone in her voice. 

“Sorry Chloe, but I have to go. Later Nino.” Adrien said, fist bumping his friend. 

“Where are you going dude?” Nino asked. “Marinette?” 

“No, dad wants me to help him pick some designs for my next shoot.” He knew Chloe would bother Marinette if she saw them together, or at least that’s what he decided to believe… Why else would Marinette leave if not to avoid Chloe? Right? 

Adrien sighed and ran into the nearest hiding place and transformed. If Adrien couldn’t help Marinette, Chat Noir would. He soon started looking for Marinette, remembering her usual route home. It didn’t take long to find her. 

Marinette didn’t walk much before her shoulder started to bother her again. She figured soon she’d have to take more medication. She never realized how much her bag weighed before now, and she didn’t like this sudden realization. Marinette sighed, sitting on one of the many empty park benches and leaning back, hoping that the pain in her shoulder would pass away.

“How’s the shoulder Princess?” Chat asked behind her, surprising her. Marinette was starting to get tired hearing that question, it’s bad enough her shoulder was damaged but did everyone have to remind her of it?

“Couldn’t be better.” She said sarcastically, turning to look at Chat. “Hey Kitty.” The sweetness of her voice warmed Chat’s heart, causing his lips to bend into a smile. Chat sat beside her, putting an arm around her, being careful with her shoulder. Marinette stared at him and smiled, using her free hand to pick up his arm, unwrap it from her and place it beside him, where it belongs.

“So what brings you here My Lady?” He asked only slightly upset with Marinette's rejection. 

“I was just walking home and decided to sit down for a bit.” Marinette shrugged, reluctant to admit her shoulder was starting to hurt. Unfortunately for her Chat knew her well, well enough to know she wouldn’t simply decide to stop and sit down for no reason. 

“I’ll take you home then.” Chat Noir winked, taking her bag from her, putting it on and starting to pick her up, only failing because Marinette stood up before he could get her. 

“My shoulder hurts Chat, not my legs.” She smiled wittily, motioning for her backpack.

“Alright, let's walk together then.” Marinette was still too tired to argue, especially with Chat Noir. He got up and stood in front of her with a sly smile on his face. “After you Princess.” 

“Why thank you.” Rolling her eyes, Marinette began to walk home with Chat Noir beside her. She was glad he was carrying her bag, honestly it was a hassle to carry.

Chat, meanwhile, enjoyed being with her and although he didn't like the means used, he was glad he finally knew who Ladybug was. He kept trying to think of something to say but nothing came to mind. He wanted Ladybug to love him, but what could he say to her for that to happen? 

Finally, they reached Marinette’s house. She took her bag from Chat, opened it and took out he keys to the front door. “Are your parents not home?” Marinette shook her head. 

“No, they went to a baker’s convention.” Marinette said as she unlocked the door. “Want a macaron? Dad baked some this morning.” She smiled. 

“Shouldn’t they be taking care of you?” He asked following her inside her store. “And yes, please.” Marinette locked the door behind them and went further into her shop. 

“I told them to go. They’ve been looking forward to going for months now, it wouldn’t be fair if they had to miss it just because of me. Plus, I can take care of myself.” Marinette took out a plate of macarons and handed it to Chat. “Take as many as you’d like.” Chat stared at her, he knew she kind and caring but he didn’t think she’d actually stay alone, with a painful injury, for someone else’s sake.

“Thanks.” He said, admiring her more than he did before. “So I guess its settled then.” He said, earning a confused stare from Marinette. “I’ll be taking care of you for the day.” He took a bite out of a macaron, not really surprised by how delicious it was.


	4. Chapter 4

“Don’t you have more important things to do?” Marinette said as nicely as possible. ‘I just want to sleep, why do I have to babysit Chat?’ She thought to herself. 

“Nope, I can’t just leave you here all on your own.” Chat grinned, putting down the plate of macarons. “Aren’t you going to eat?” 

“I’m not hungry.” She shook her head. “Just tired.” She mumbled, putting her bag down somewhere, making a mental note to pick it up later. Chat just barely heard her but decided not to say anything just yet. Chat thought momentarily on what to say, he wanted to sound smart and approachable. Just as he thought of the perfect thing to say Marinette remembered something crucial. 

Marinette knew that her room was really the only place in her home where she enjoyed spending a vast majority of her time just like every other teenager… This meant that if she wanted to actually do something productive or fun she’d have to go to her room… Meaning Chat would follow her… This would be perfectly fine if her room wasn’t plastered with pictures of Adrien… Which wouldn’t be so bad if Chat didn’t know him… But if Chat Noir knows who Marinette was then he might know who Adrien, a successful model, is! Marinette shrieked, interrupting Chat’s train of thought, and ran towards her room. Chat attempted to follow her but she slammed the trap door shut before he could. 

“Don’t come in!!” She shrieked. Chat stood there completely confused, Ladybug never did anything this random before. But he was impressed with Marinette’s agility and strength, considering she only had one good arm to work with. 

Marinette quickly scurried around her room taking down any and all pictures of Adrien she could find, thankfully Tikki helped her. She stuffed all of them into one of her drawers, hoping curiosity wouldn’t get the cat. “Thanks Tikki.” She whispered. 

“Marinette, do you think I can stop hiding from Chat Noir? He already knows you’re Ladybug. It’s starting to get crowded in your purse.” Tikki requested, tired of staying shut in Marinette’s bag. She could withstand a few hours in her purse, but she didn’t want to spend an entire day! 

“If you think it’s fine then okay.” Marinette replied, moving towards the trap door while Tikki sat down near Marinette’s computer. “Okay Kitty Cat, the coast is clear.” She opened the door, surprised when she saw Chat noir staring up at her patiently. She blinked twice, and moved back leaving enough space for Chat Noir to come in.

“What was that about LB?” He asked, entering her room swiftly. Marinette couldn’t tell him she had over fifty pictures of her crush hanging around like a stalker.

“Uh… Spring cleaning?” She lied sheepishly. Chat Noir knew Marinette and he knew she wasn’t messy, so it was easy to tell she was lying. He smiled, deciding not to call her out. 

“You’ve got a pretty sweet room Marinette.” Chat said while browsing around, making Marinette a bit anxious. ‘What if he finds something completely embarrassing!’ She thought to herself. Thankfully Chat’s eye was caught by Marinette’s sewing machine. “I forgot you could sew.” He mumbled. 

‘Forgot?’ Marinette repeated in her head, slightly confused… She couldn’t remember a time when she told Chat Noir she could sew… So she had to have known who he was without the mask. Before she continued this thought process she stopped herself, it was bad enough Chat knew who she was and she wasn’t about to make matters worse by finding out who he was. “Yeah.” She responded softly. “I’ve always wanted to be a designer, ever since I was a kid and being able to sew really helps progress that dream.” Marinette covered her mouth, realizing she probably said something really lame. 

Adrien knew Marinette had a knack for designing, but he never really thought much of it. He never realized it was a passion of her’s, thinking it was only a hobby of sorts. “I’m sure you’ll be one of the greatest designers yet.” He said, trying to encourage her.

Adrien had always dreamed of the day he could spend time with Ladybug without having to fight crime, but now that the day had finally come he didn’t really know what to do nor what to say. He still loved her, of course, but they were always doing something crazy, never really taking time to talk about their personal lives. There were quiet moments when they would have decent conversations, but nothing meaningful enough to remember. Right now he was inside Ladybug’s room, seeing a new part of her through Marinette.

“Thank you.” Marinette blushed softly, more than happy to receive a compliment about her work. Just then, Chat Noir’s eyes finally saw Tikki sitting by the computer, observing him. 

“Is that…” He started. 

“My Kwami? Yes. Her name’s Tikki.” Marinette sat down on her chair, nearly turning on her computer before realizing what her wall paper was. ‘Oh no…’ She thought. Chat stared at Marinette, confused why she was sitting there, glaring at her computer instead of turning it on.

“Hello Chat Noir!” Tikki said enthusiastically, distracting him from his current train of thought. Marinette, taking advantage of this distraction, quickly turned on her computer and changed her background picture from Adrien to one of herself and Alya. 

“Hey.” Chat said, eying Tikki. He wasn’t quite sure what he expected, another cat-like little creature maybe. He looked at her curiously, interested in how unique she was. He was also surprised by her friendliness, and how unlike she was compared to Plagg. “It’s nice to meet you.” He said as Marinette grabbed her bag to start on the vast amount of school and home work she had to finish.

“Nice to meet you too!” Tikki giggled softly, floating towards Marinette.

“I’m sorry, but would you mind if I did my homework?” Marinette asked, hoping he’d let her study in peace.

“No, go ahead.” He said, deciding to continue looking around. Chat wasn’t quite sure what he should do, he wanted to talk to Marinette but interrupting her studies wouldn’t exactly make her like him any more than she already does… He found Marinette’s dolls, cringing at the memory of being a puppet. He picked up the dolls and sat on the ground, leaning on the wall and appreciating Marinette’s craftsmanship. He looked up at her opening his mouth to compliment her but quickly closed it when he noticed her pulling her hair back uncomfortably. “Is there anything I can do for you Princess?” Tiredly, Marinette looked at him for a moment.

“Actually…” She started, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Would you mind tying my hair up?” She asked, only a bit embarrassed. Chat blinked, not expecting that sort of response at all. 

“Don’t like it down huh?” He remembered complimenting her hair earlier… He silently hoped he didn’t say something wrong. 

“Not really.” She shrugged. “I hear cats are great groomers though, care to test out that theory?” She smiled playfully, finding it hilarious that she said something Chat would probably say. Chat, in response, chuckled lightly. 

“Indeed they are My Lady.” Marinette got up and went to the bathroom, returning with a hair brush and two hair ties, sitting on the floor right in front of Chat. He then put down the dolls and took the brush and ties from her. She turned around, granting Chat free access to her hair. 

As Chat combed her hair, Marinette felt more and more relaxed for some reason. Chat was careful, making sure he didn’t yank her soft blue hair and Marinette appreciated the gesture. Marinette closed her tired eyes, forgetting the numbing pain in her shoulder and actually feeling in peace. As Chat ran his fingers through her hair, she started to feel heavy.

It wasn’t long before Marinette fell asleep, gently falling towards Chat who caught her. “Marinette?” He asked, putting the brush down.  
“She fell asleep.” Tikki noted, smiling cheekily. Chat Boir stared at Marinette’s peaceful, slumbering face and smiled. “Should we wake her up?” Tikki flew closer to them. 

“No, she’s really tired. It would be better to let her sleep.” He pulled her closer to him, letting her lean on his chest and wrapping his arms around her.

“You really like her, don't you Adrien?” Tikki said softly. 

“Yes, I-“ Adrien started. “Wait you know??” Tikki nodded her head. “How?” He was worried, wondering if Marinette knew as well. 

“Plagg and I can sense each other and other kwamis. When you sat in front of Marinette it was easy to sense Plagg, in fact he probably knew Marinette was Ladybug. Don’t worry, Marinette doesn’t know, we aren’t supposed to tell.” Adrien looked at her for a moment, understanding her reasoning and Plagg’s. 

“Fair enough.” He smiled, once again pulling Marinette closer.


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette woke up alone on her bed. She couldn’t remember going to bed, much less falling asleep. Her arm was no longer in the sling, instead it was carefully laid on top of a pillow.

She slowly sat up, careful not to agitate her shoulder. She found her sling on her table and put it on. “Tikki?” She asked, only finding relief after assuring that she still had her earrings on. It was far too quiet, and Tikki was nowhere to be found. “Maybe she’s in the bathroom?” Marinette thought out loud. She walked in the bathroom, surprised to see her hair tied into messy piggy tails. She blinked, running a hand through her hair as she finally remembered what happen. “I fell asleep on Chat…” She felt embarrassed. She sighed, leaving the bathroom to look for Tikki once more. After looking around for her a bit more, Marinette decided to head downstairs. She opened the trapdoor and almost immediately a delicious aroma hits her, someone was cooking something good. Marinette figured her parents came back. She smiled, making her way towards the kitchen. 

“Now add some oil… No! That’s vinegar Chat… The oil is the one to the left.” Tikki said, flying towards the ingredients. Marinette stared only slightly confused. She entered the kitchen, watching Tikki give Chat directions. Chat was boiling something on the stove, a closer inspection would reveal that it was spaghetti and meatballs.

“I didn’t know you could cook.” Marinette mumbled, walking closer to Chat. 

“It’s cause I can’t.” He looked at her with a grin. “I’m just good at following directions.” He leaned closer to her. “Speaking of which, can I have directions?” He asked earnestly. 

“For what?” Marinette raised a brow.

“Your heart.” Chat winked. Marinette rolled her eyes, gently pushing Chat away from her. Chat snickered softly, already knowing she wouldn’t fall for such a cheesy pick-up line. 

“Chat you’re over cooking it…” Tikki said, causing Chat a moment of panic. He quickly took the pot off the stove, planting it on a countertop and turning the stove off. He sighed in relief, glad he didn’t set fire to the house or something equally as bad. Marinette stared dumbfounded, and then laughed earning an adoring smile from Chat. 

“You really can’t cook, can you?” She said giggling. 

“Nope, but I figured you’d be hungry after you woke up. Hope you don’t mind me raiding your kitchen.” Marinette blushed slightly, she never knew Chat could be so… kind. 

“I’ll let it slide this time.” She smiled, eager to try Chat’s spaghetti. Marinette moved towards the cabinets, deciding the least she could do was set the table. “Thanks Kitty.” She said as she opened a cabinet door, reaching for the plates. Her fingertips just barely reached the top but she wasn’t just going to give up even if she was struggling a bit, much to Chat’s amusement. Soon, she felt something warm behind her.

Chat easily reached the plates, grabbing them for Marinette and placing them on the table. Marinette frowned slightly, wishing she could actually help him with something. “My Lady.” Chat grinned, pulling a chair for Marinette and motioning for her to sit. With a giggle she sat down, finding Chat’s chivalrous act both sweet and funny. Chat finished setting the table and served Marinette. “So how long till your arm heals up?” He asked as he served himself and sat down.

“I’m not sure. The doctors said it should completely heal in a month or two.” Chat saw the hidden sadness in her eyes, well covered with a soft smile on her lips. She looked up at him, deciding to drop her smile altogether. “I’m sorry Chat, I won’t be much help while fighting the akuma.” She whispered barely audible. “If only I hadn’t…” She couldn’t say it in the hospital, but she was determined to say it now. “…failed so miserably. I should’ve been more careful, I’m sorry.” She finally said it, yet somehow it only made her feel worse. “I wish I wasn’t such a horrible Ladybug.” She looked at her plate, wondering why he was putting so much effort into her.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Chat stared at her, determined to cheer her up. “You saved my life Marinette, I’m just happy you’re here safe with me, and not…” Dead. Chat didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened, and he didn’t want her to think about it either. He extended his arm to grab her hand, making her heart flutter if only a bit. “I can handle the akuma, all I need is to know you’re okay.” Marinette finally looked at him again. “And Marinette,” he paused to make sure she was listening to him, “you’re an amazing Ladybug. I wouldn’t be able to be the Chat Noir I am now without you.” They stared into each others eyes for what seemed like hours, holding each others hands and sharing a beautiful silence filled with emotion. 

“Thank you, Kitty.” She broke the silence, feeling newfound strength flow through her and having comfort in Chat’s words. She didn’t know how to thank him… Not only had he given her kind words, but he gave her comfort, a sense of security and joy. She remembered faintly the first time they met when fighting Stone Heart; she remembered how he had encouraged her in such a similar way when she didn’t believe in herself.

Chat smiled, glad his efforts weren’t for naught. “Don’t mention it Princess.” He reluctantly removed his hand from Marinette’s and picked up his fork. “Shall we?” He said with a grin. Marinette nodded, chuckling a bit. 

As they started to eat, Marinette thought of all of the things Chat had done for her. ‘He really is a great friend.’ She thought. “This is really good Chat!” She commented. 

“Only the best for My Lady.” He winked. “Still, you should thank Tikki. I’m sure that without her I’d probably burn down the house along with the kitten.” Chat laughed a bit, thinking himself a genius when it comes to puns. Marinette just rolled her eyes and kept eating. 

Tikki, deciding to leave them alone, was sitting on one of the counters eating one of the remaining macarons from earlier. She decided, after listening to their conversation, that taking Marinette to the guardian might be a good idea. Before she wasn’t certain, but now she knew she had to. She knew he would be able to help Marinette heal faster… Hopefully before another akuma attack. 

After they ate, Chat Noir took care of the dishes as Marinette put the leftovers in a container and in the fridge somehow doing it all with her one good arm. They talked the entire time, finding new similarities and new facts about each other. Chat finally started to know Ladybug as Marinette, seeing her for the person she was without the mask. Marinette, however, started to see Chat as more than just her funny partner. 

“Oh, my parents should be here soon.” Marinette mentioned as she looked at the clock. For some reason, she wished time moved slower. They were up in her room now, they decided to play some video games after dinner remembering their common love of Ultimate Mecha Strike III. 

“I guess I should go then.” Chat’s tone had a small hint of sadness. 

“Yeah.” Marinette said reluctantly. Before she could say something else, Chat hugged her. “Chat?” She asked, slowly returning his embrace. 

“I’m just happy you’re here.” He whispered softly, releasing her awkwardly after realizing what he was doing. “I’ll see you later, Marinette.” He opened her window, and started to go through it and into the balcony. 

“Wait!” Marinette suddenly yelled. Chat looked at her worried. “I…” She honestly had no idea why she called out to him, she was just reluctant to let him leave. “Thank you.” She said, earning a smile from Chat. 

“Don’t mention it.” And with that he was gone. Marinette stared for a bit, unsure of what she felt.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update this chapter... Buut it's a tad longer than the other ones so theres that!  
> Anyways, I'd like to thank everyone for the love and support you've given Merely a Scratch! I really enjoyed reading all of your awesome comments and talking to a few of you! Y'all are awesome!

“And now on France’s got talent! Colbey Jones! Just like his father, Colbey is rumored to have the voice of an angel! Give a special round of applause for the judges! André Bourgeois, our very own mayor! Bob Roth, Jagged Stone’s producer! And XY, one of our prodigy singers!” Alec Cataldi, a famous show host, said to the camera. Colbey Jones, son to the really famous singer Miguel Jones, always hated being compared to his old man. It was unfortunate that he had to follow in his dad’s footsteps but it was horrible that everyone wanted him to be a Miguel 2.0. “And now! Let’s get ready to hear Colbey’s all new original song: Hair in the Soup!”

 

Colby took a deep breath, and begun to sing. He had practiced for years, taking many vocal classes and spending so much time writing lyrics. Now he was finally confidant and ready to make a career out of his voice, without piggy backing off of his father. And as he sang the crowd roared loving his beautiful voice, eagerly listening to him. Once he was done there was only applause to be heard. “Thank you!” He smiled victoriously, knowing he did this on his own.

 

“And just like his father, Colbey truly knows how to steer our hearts with his voice!” Alec cheered. “Alright, judges what do you think?” Colbey frowned slightly after hearing the words ‘just like his father’.

 

“He really can sing!” The Mayor smiled. “He really does take after his father!” Colbey gritted his teeth. “I give him an 8!” Colbey then stared at Bob Roth, hoping to get a different answer from him.

 

“I have to say, this young man has a bright future ahead of him. Just like Miguel, his voice is amazing and can go in such a variety of pitches. He’s a 9!” Colbey started to feel furious; he earned this all on his own… He was NOTHING like his father. He stared at the last judge, thinking that maybe he (as a fellow singer) could tell that he and his father are completely different!

 

“I like his style, it’s unique.” XY said, earning Colbey’s admiration. ‘Finally, someone who sees me as someone different from father!’ He thought to himself. “Can’t say he’ll get out of his dad’s shadow anytime soon though. He get’s a 7 from me.” Colbey lost any gratitude he felt towards XY.

 

“That gets you a grade of 8! Great job Colbey! I bet you made your father proud! You truly are following in his shadow!” Colbey forced a smile, walking out of the stage feeling defeated.

 

“I’m not my father.” He whispered, holding his mike. “I’m not his shadow!” He cried.

 

“How about after school?” Marinette asked Tikki.

 

“Well, the healer can see you any time so I don’t see why not.” Tikki smiled, floating around Marinette. In the previous night, Tikki reminded Marinette of the healer that she asked Marinette take her to when she was sick. She commented that the healer could also help heal her shoulder but decided to let Marinette sleep and talking about it more in the morning. “And Marinette…” She remembered Marinette and Chat Noir’s talk early in the morning. “…you were chosen to be Ladybug for a reason, you haven’t failed! You’re an amazing Ladybug and you shouldn’t let one incident make you think otherwise.”

 

Marinette smiled, hugging Tikki soflty. “Thanks Tikki.” She said. She then slowly got dressed and put on her sling.

 

Suddenly, there was a knock on her window. Marinette blinked, slightly confused as to who could possibly be on her balcony... Knocking on her window… Which is on the third floor… She slowly opened it and found Chat Noir smiling at her. “Hello there Princess!” For a second, Marinette’s heart skipped a beat but dismissed it as feeling surprised.

 

“Hi?” She raised a brow feeling quite confused as to why Chat was there. “What brings you here Kitty?” Chat entered her room, looked around for a bit. “Chat?”

 

“There it is!” He said, picking up Marinette’s hairbrush. Marinette tilted her head, still quite confused. “I figured you might want some help putting your hair up, so of course your purrsonal groomer is here for you.” He winked. Marinette chuckled slightly.

 

“That’s really sweet of you Chat.” Marinette smiled, and he smiled back. “Thank you.” She couldn’t believe that Chat actually woke up early and went to her house just to tie her hair.

 

“Don’t mention it.” He grabbed some hair ties. “Can I braid it?” Marinette blinked, giggling a bit at the question. 

“Sure.” She said. She really didn’t have a preference on how her hair looked, only caring that it wasn’t down. The only reason she decided on piggy tails was because they were easy and fast to do. Chat was quick to start messing with her hair, he tried his best to make it so that it wouldn't look bad. 

“And… Voila!” He smirked. “Looking good princess!” Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled. 

“Thanks again Chat.” Chat nodded his head and walked back towards the window. 

“Always at your service My Lady!” He bowed in a princely manner. “See you soon Mari.” He started to head out. 

“Wait you really came here just to braid my hair?” She asked bewildered, surely expecting to have to deal with Chat for at least an hour. 

“Yup.” He grinned and left. Marinette stood there for a short while, wondering what the heck had gotten into Chat. She then walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, admiring the piggy tail braids Chat gave her. 

“Marinette you’re going to be late!” Marinette’s mother called out to her. 

“Shoot!” Marinette quickly scrabbled around to gather her things and ran downstairs. 

After a fast paced version of her morning routine, she managed to get to school in time. 

Adrien smiled in the backseat of his escort’s car. ‘I played with Ladybug… No… Marinette's hair.’ He bit his lip innocently. Plagg silently ate his disgusting cheese, unable to believe that Adrien actually transformed into Chat Noir just to style someone's hair. He was glad he at least got some cheese out of the whole situation.

“Adrien?” Nathalie, assistant to Adrien’s father, called for Adrien. She wondered why he seemed so spacey this morning. First he was nearly late to school which almost messed up his schedule, and now he was spacing out. “Do you wish to skip school today?” She wondered if he felt sick. 

“No!” Adrien said a bit too quickly. “I mean… No thank you Nathalie.” He regained his composure. “I’m just thinking about my physics project… It’s worth two grades and I’m trying to decide on whether I want to do momentum or circular motion.” He lied, hoping Nathalie wouldn’t think much of it. She didn’t. 

“Very well then.” Adrien silently sighed in relief, glad she bought his farce. Soon he was in school, where he’d see the love of his life again.

“Bye!” Adrien left the car and quickly made his way up the stairs. He saw Nino by the doorway, waiting for him like he usually does. “Hey Nino!” He was a bit too excited. 

“Hey man, what’s up? Did you get a new girlfriend or something?” Nino teased his best friend. Adrien blushed slightly but smiled wittingly. 

“No. Not yet at least.” Adrien responded. “Who knows, one dayI might be quite the stud.” Nino rolled his eyes. 

“So you’re going to the party right?” Nino asked. “The one I’m DJ-ing at?” 

“Yeah of course!” The two of them kept talking as they walked towards their class. Truthfully though, Adrien just wanted to see Marinette. 

“Girl who did your hair?” Alya nearly yelled in excitement. “It’s about time you do something other than piggy tails.” She smiled. 

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Marinette giggled with a slight blush. “And what’s wrong with my piggy tails? I think they’re quite cute!” 

“Don’t tell me it was your secret boyfriend?” Chat? Her boyfriend? The thought of it made Marinette laugh… But it also made her think. 

“If only.” She didn’t realize she said those words, and was quite confused when she heard them slip from her mouth. “It was my mom. She braided them.” Marinette quickly lied, knowing nothing good could come out of Alya knowing Chat Noir was in her house… Especially since Alya had a creative imagination.

“Well tell your mom she rocks.” Both of them giggled. Adrien soon walked into the class, glad to see Marinette looked happy. “Psst here comes Adrien, say hello!” Alya whispered. 

“Wh-what??” Marinette was definitely not ready to talk to Adrien. What would she say? How would she act? “No way Al-“

“Hey Adrien don’t you think Marinette looks adorable with these braids?” Marinette nearly died. 

“Yeah, they look good on you Marinette.” Adrien smiled sweetly at her. He then sat down in his seat more than happy to know Marinette liked them. 

“You thank! I mean… Thanks you! I mean… Thank you!” Marinette blushed horribly, both happy that Adrien liked her braids and flustered for the same reason. She glared at Alya, secretly thanking her for this. 

Adrien wondered if Marinette was afraid of him for some reason. ‘Maybe she still held a grudge for the gum incident?’ Adrien thought. ‘No. She’s not mad…’ He decided he’d finally ask Nino on this later.

Chloe watched, unsatisfied with the way Marinette and Adrien were behaving with one another. She figured Marinette was using her arm as an excuse to flirt with Adrien, and Chloe was not going to let poor Adrien be blackmailed like this.


	7. Chapter 7

“So Marinette, what are you doing with Adrien?” Chloe questioned Marinette. She had to wait until lunch break to talk to Marinette, it felt like class took forever. She made Sabrina steal Alya’s phone to distract her so Chloe could talk to Marinette alone. 

“What? Chloe I’m not doing anything to Adrien.” Marinette was sincerely confused and she didn’t like the idea of being alone with Chloe. She knew Chloe was up to something, and Marinette was still unwilling to deal with Chloe all on her own…but she’d have to manage now. 

"Oh please, I know you’re up to something.” Chloe looked from her beautiful nails to Marinette’s disgusting blue eyes. “And I’m not going to let you win.” 

“Win what Chloe?” 

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Chloe raised her voice slightly beginning to get mad. “I know you’re doing something to make Adrien talk to you and I’m telling you to stop!” 

“I’m not doing anything Chloe! And even if I were you aren’t the boss of me!” Marinette stood her ground. “Leave me alone already.” Chloe was enraged. 

“DON’T talk to me like that!” Chloe angrily poked Marinette’s shoulder, her bad shoulder, pushing her on the wall. She never intended on actually pushing Marinette, but she refused to even consider apologizing.

“Sorry about that Marinette… I have no idea why…” Alya, having finally retrieved her phone, was walking back towards Marinette when she saw Chloe impulsively push Marinette away from her. “What is your damage??” She yelled at Chloe as she ran towards Marinette to help her. 

Pain shot through Marinette’s shoulder but she refused to let it show. Chloe frowned and stared at Sabrina who finally caught up with the group. “I told you to keep her phone!” She angrily hissed earning an apologetic stare from Sabrina. 

“Are you okay?” Alya asked and Marinette nodded, getting back up and glaring at Chloe. She knew her voice would crack if she spoke anything and she wouldn’t give Chloe the satisfaction. “What were you thinking Chloe? Marinette’s shoulder is messed up! Are you seriously so self centered that you don’t even care to consider others?” Alya began to chastise her, angry with what Chloe did. “It’s amazing how cruel you are. Have you nothing be-“ Alya would’ve continued but Marinette put a hand on her shoulder. 

“I’m going home.” She managed to speak clearly.

“Alright, I’ll tell the teacher. And you,” She pointed at Chloe, “stay away from her.” Alya nodded, taking Marinette away from Chloe and Sabrina after glaring at them.

“Thanks.” Marinette said softly, holding her schoolbag stiffly. Alya started walking Marinette to the nurse, thinking Marinette should wait there for someone to pick her up and take her home. “I’m just going to go straight home Alya.” Marinette quickly spoke once she realized where Alya was taking her. 

“Girl, you need to sit down and rest.” Marinette shook her head. 

“It’s only a small distance… Please?” Alya sighed, not liking the idea of letting her best friend walk alone all the way back to her house.

“Fine.” She said reluctantly, trusting that Marinette knew what she was doing. “Call me if you need me, and when you get home okay?” Marinette nodded. 

“Thanks Alya!” She smiled, walking out of the school. She started walking home, but once she was out of sight she stopped. “Tikki?” She whispered, opening her pouch. 

“Are you okay Marinette?” Tikki asked worried, knowing her shoulder must be screaming in pain… It was. 

“Yeah, I’ll… I’ll be fine.” She said tiredly. “Can you take me to that healer? The sooner my shoulder heals the better.” Marinette realized that with her responsibilities as Ladybug, and as Marinette, she couldn’t afford the luxury of sitting around and waiting for her shoulder to get better. If she could barely withstand an accidental shove from Chloe, how would she fare in a fight? She knew she had to be combat ready. 

Alya slipped into the empty classroom unnoticed, and walked over to the teacher. “Ms. Bustier?” Alya called out. 

“Yes Alya? Shouldn’t you be on break?” Caline responded staring calmly at Alya with a sympathetic smile. 

“Well I was… But I came to tell you that Marinette had to go home. Her shoulder started acting up after Chloe pushed her.” Alya said only completely spiteful. 

“Chloe did what?!” The teacher was surprised. Chloe had a reputation of being cruel but not to such an extreme. “Alya, please stay after class with Chloe so we can discuss this civilly.” Alya nodded. 

“Why does she always act strangely around me?” Adrien asked Nino. They were both sitting on the stair case, unaware of the events that just happened. 

“Well she…” Nino started… But then he remembered Alya would annihilate him if he revealed Marinette’s secret. “She might just be really shy?” He suggested instead. “You two don’t really talk to often so she might just not know how to be around you.” 

“That could be it.” Adrien agreed. He smiled, deciding he was going to try harder to be Marinette's friend. “Thank Nino.” 

“Hey, don’t mention it bro!” The two kept talking until the end of lunch. They soon returned to the class. Adrien was once again eager to see Marinette, already thinking of new ways to strike up a conversation with her. He would first start by saying hello, then he’d ask her about some of her designs. He’d progress by talking about the new movies coming up and wondering if she, Alya, Nino and himself were interested in watching one together later that evening. If she said yes he’d smile and say her ticket’s on him. If she said no he’d ask if maybe some other time and then move on with some other conversation. 

It was safe to say he was very disappointed when he saw Marinette’s empty seat. 

He noticed that Alya was glaring at Chloe, who looked guilty of something. Before he could adk, Nino looked at Alya and whispered: “what happened to Marinette?”

“That little monster pushed her, so she’s going back home.” Adrien widened his eyes. He badly wanted to go and find her, but he knew it would be suspicious if he too decided to ditch class for no reason. 

“Alright!” Marinette said cheerfully after taking some of her pain relieving medication. She was trying to avoid using too much of it since it clouded her judgement and made her extremely tired, but after getting pushed by Chloe she didn’t have much choice on the topic. “Let’s go Tikki!” She started following Tikki, determined to get better one way or another.


	8. Chapter 8

“Excuse me?” Marinette asked uncertainly once entering Master Fu’s home. 

“It’s okay Marinette, he’s here. You can go in.” Tikki flew out of Marinette’s back and into the house. 

“Tikki wait! Shouldn’t you be hiding?” Marinette quickly followed her inside, wondering if Tikki knew what she was doing. 

“Ah, hello there miss. Is your cat sick again?” Master Fu kindly smiled at Marinette, who awkwardly smiled back. 

“No I… I was wondering if you also helped heal humans.” Tikki quickly went back inside Marinette’s bag, deciding to let Master Fu choose whether or not to mention his Kwami.

“Yes, of course dear. What’s the problem?” He asked, noticing her sling. 

“I, uh, fell down and somehow managed to get my shoulder impaled.” She really should have thought of a better excuse. Master Fu easily deduced that this was caused during a fight as Ladybug against an akuma, but he decided to pretend he didn’t know. 

“How tragic.” He nodded with a frown. “Come, let me take a look at it.” He motioned for her to sit down on a mat in his room. 

“Thank you.” Marinette put her bag by the entrance and sat down where Master Fu told her to. “Should I remove my sling?” 

“There’s no need for that.” Marinette suddenly felt heat radiate on her back and into her shoulder. She wanted to look back and see what he was doing, but she figured it wasn’t much too different from what he did with Tikki. 

“So… Can you heal it?” Marinette asked, hoping for a miracle.

“Yes, but you must have patience.” She nodded, relieved that she would get better faster. 

Class finally ended, Adrien quickly packed his bag and started thinking of any excuses he could use on Nathalie and Gorilla to avoid wasting time going home. 

“Later Adrien.” Nino waved. 

“You’re not coming?” Adrien raised a brow, swinging the bag’s strap around him. 

“No, I’m going to wait for Alya.” Adrien thought Nino and Alya made quite the cute couple they really were good together… He hoped that maybe one day that could be Marinette and himself. 

“Oh, alright see you Nino.” Adrien went out of the class and quickly ran out of the school. After exiting, he took a slower pace so Nathalie wouldn’t question his rush. “Hey Nathalie.” He said once he finally reached the car. “I was wondering if I could stay after school for a few more hours… To work on my physics project!” He remembered mentioning some excuse like that this morning.

“Very well, you have three hours.” Nathalie said calmly. Thankfully, Adrien’s schedule was relatively free that day. 

“Thanks Nathalie!” She nodded, motioning for Gorilla to drive back. Adrien waved at them as they left. When they were no longer in sight he was quick to run over to Marinette’s house. He entered the shop, glad when he saw her mother working the front desk. “Hey! Mrs. Cheng! It’s been a while!” Adrien walked over to her with a sweet smile on his face. 

“Oh hello there!” Sabine remembered Marinette bringing him home once for the tournament. “What can I do for you?” She asked, giving him her full attention since the shop was empty. Surprisingly there aren’t many customers at this hour. 

“I was wondering if I could talk to Marinette?” He asked confidently. The blonde figured she was in her room, most likely resting. He grinned, realizing this was his chance to get to know each other better…as Adrien at least. Marinette seemed to be comfortable around Chat Noir, never stuttering and actively avoiding conversations with him like she does with Adrien… He was aiming to change that.

“She hasn’t come home yet, would you like me to leave a message?” She wasn’t home? Adrien was genuinely confused. Where else could she be? He wondered. 

“Ah, no it’s okay. Thanks Mrs. Cheng. I guess I’ll just see her at school tomorrow.” He forced a smile, feeling disappointed and worried. ‘What happened to her?’ 

Sabine knew Marinette had quite the crush on this young man standing right in front of her and the billions of pictures of Adrien hanging on her room were proof of it. She smiled softly, deciding this was the perfect opportunity to get to know the boy and get some intel for her daughter. “Would you like some cookies?” She asked grabbing one of the many plates filled with freshly baked cookies from one of the shop’s tables. “It’s on the house.” The mother added. Adrien wanted to search for Marinette, but how could he refuse such delicious snacks?

“Thanks… but I really have to get going…” He hesitated; he’s been craving those cookies ever since that fateful day they were denied to him by Marinette. Sabine frowned slightly, hoping the boy would change his mind. “Maybe one?” He gave in. Sabine smiled victoriously.

“Here you go.” She handed him the plate.

“Thanks.” He guiltily took a cookie and began to eat it… He would feel so bad if it didn’t taste so good. “I really do have to go though, it was nice seeing you again Mrs. Cheng!” He returned the plate, stealing one more cookie, and started walking towards the door. “You’re cookies are the best!” 

“Before you go, what do you think of my daughter?” Sabine asked with an innocent smile.

“She’s kind of shy.” Adrien said thinking carefully, he wanted Sabine to like him and this unexpected question could be crucial for that to happen. “But that only adds to her charm. You have a really awesome daughter Mrs. Cheng.” He smiled genuinely. Sabine examined him carefully, making him feel nervous. Finally, she walked over to Adrien and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Do you like her?” She asked in a sweet motherly tone. Adrien blushed, completely surprised by the question. He opened his mouth urging himself to think of some witty reply that would save him from any sort of embarrassment that was surely coming his way, yet words refused to come. 

“She’s a really great friend.” He finally said.

“Well, you seem like a great boy. Come by more often hm?” Sabine smiled, finally letting the poor boy go. 

“Right!” Adrien smiled sheepishly, uncertain about what was happening right now. He slowly walked out of the shop, waving goodbye.

“Well Plagg, at least she doesn’t hate me.” He whispered, taking a bite out of the second cookie he took. “Any idea where Marinette could be?”

“No idea.” Plagg whispered back. “Do you know where she likes to hang out?” 

“Not really… I guess I could start looking for places I’ve seen Ladybug before.” He said heading towards the Eiffel Tower, one of the many places Chat Noir fought with Ladybug. 

Elsewhere in the beautiful city that is Paris, Colbey gritted his teeth walking out of the studio and into the streets. He couldn’t believe what had happened, he received such a good rating but not because the judges liked him...because they only liked his father. “How dare they?” He mumbled, holding back tears. “I’m not a copy of my dad, I’m not his shadow.” He tried to comfort himself, instead he screamed in frustration kicking the first thing in his path, which happened to be a lamppost.

He closed his eyes momentarily, tightly holding onto his mike. When he opened them again, he saw a beautiful black butterfly fluttering its wings towards him. “What? You think I’m like my dad too?” The butterfly landed on his mike, and seemed to be sucked into it. Colbey stared, shell shocked, at the scene refusing to believe his eyes. Soon, he heard a voice answer his question.

“Of course I don’t. Hello Shadowvoice, my name Is Hawkmoth and I can grant you the power to leave the shadows, but in return you’ll have to do me a little favor.” Hawkmoth smiled, communicating with his next victim. 

“Yes Hawkmoth.” Colbey grinned.


	9. Chapter 9

Marinette had been at Master Fu’s for about half and hour now, and she would’ve stayed if she hadn’t started hearing screams coming from outside. “What’s going on?” She asked, feeling the heat on her back die down as Master Fu stood up. He walked to one of the windows in his home and opened the blinds, looking troubled with what he saw. 

“An akuma.” He sighed, wondering what Marinette’s reaction would be. 

“I’m sorry but I have to go.” Marinette stood up quickly, deciding to ignore the slightly painful discomfort in her shoulder. “My, um, sister needs me!” She quickly came up with an excuse. 

“But your shoulder…” Master Yu knew the girl could handle herself well, he was the one who chose her after all, but he wanted to see her dedication to justice. 

“It’s going to have to wait.” The brunette had determination gleaming in her eyes; she refused to let a silly injury prevent her from saving Paris. She quickly left Master Fu’s, grabbing her bag and running towards any isolated place she could find. Master Fu smiled as he saw her leave, knowing that he made the right choice. 

“Tikki, spots on!” She dropped her bag and quickly transformed. “Remind me to come back for this later.” She said hiding her schoolbag behind a trashcan in the empty alley she found. Her shoulder felt numb, an effect of the medicine she took, and she was thankful it wasn’t aching in pain. She threw her yoyo and began swinging carelessly towards the Akuma. “So, what do we have here?”

“Her Miraculous…take it!” Shadowvoice heard Hawkmoth yell. 

“You! Ladybug! Give me your Miraculous, or live in the shadows!” Ladybug had no idea what he meant, but she had no intention to find out. She looked at the black haired boy standing in front of her; he wore a completely black bodysuit decorated with red stripes across his chest, a long white cape and red boots and gloves. His brown eyes met her blue ones.

“Sorry, no can do mister… Who are you again?” She smirked, wondering where Chat Noir was. If she needed him before she knew she really needed him now. 

“Shadowvoice, my name is Shadowvoice!” He sang angrily. Ladybug always wondered why the Akumatized civilians always refused to give out their real name. “And you had your warning!” The boy sang with his beautiful voice, much like a siren luring sailors to their deaths. Marinette was smart enough to know that staying in one place while an Akuma does something weird is not a bright idea. Strangely enough, the sound waves coming from Shadowvoice’s mike didn’t do anything when they hit the spot Marinette was standing on. She hypothesized that it must only affect people or maybe specific targets. 

Ladybug might have been injured, but at least she could still distract Shadowvoice long enough for Chat to show up. “Over here Shadow!” She winked, drawing attention away from the citizens who were frantically running away from the Akuma and Ladybug.

“Did you hear something?” Adrien just barely heard a soft, beautiful voice singing angelically not too far away. 

“Sounds like someone is singing.” Plagg sighed, not really interested in the song. He decided to see who was singing, thinking that maybe he’d find Marinette along the way. The walk towards the location where he heard the voice wasn’t a long one, but it was rather confusing. Adrien didn’t understand why there were so many people running around, and he didn’t understand why a few of them seemed to have no idea to where exactly they were running… and then it hit him.

“Plagg, this is an akuma attack.” He said, searching for the guilty party responsible for the panic. His innocent green eyes scanned the area promptly looking for the akuma, he needed to know whom he was up against, but instead they landed on a girl wearing a red skintight outfit with blue braids. “Ladybug.” He whispered in awe.

Shadowvoice noticed Adrien just standing there in a trance with his eyes transfixed on Ladybug; he grinned. “Looks like this boy wants to be in left in the shadows.” He sang. Ladybug noticed Shadowvoice targeted someone new and immediately she leapt into action, refusing to let him get his way. She threw her yoyo wrapping it around Adrien and yanked on it, forcing him to swiftly fly towards her and saving him from the waves radiating out of Shadowvoice’s mike. 

“Are you okay?” She caught him before he could plummet on the ground, wincing slightly from the pain on her shoulder. “Where is he?” She whispered, uncertain as to how much longer she could keep this up. Adrien blushed softly, finally breaking free from his daze. He realized she meant Chat; she needed him to be there for her. 

‘Oh no…’ He thought. He was so preoccupied with looking for Marinette that he completely ignored Ladybug, leaving her to fend for herself with a painfully injured shoulder. “I’m alright, but I better go.” Ladybug blinked, realizing the boy she had saved was none other than Adrien Agreste...her Adrien.

“Uh yeah.” She smiled awkwardly, looking back at Shadowvoice who was getting ready for an encore. “I’ll distract him, just run.” She started running towards the Akuma and throwing her yoyo at him, forcing him to dodge. Adrien watched her go, gritted his teeth and ran away. He didn’t go far, just enough to not be seen.

“Plagg, claws out!” He was angry, both at himself and at whoever the singing Akuma was. Once fully transformed, he quickly ran towards the action. Ladybug looked exhausted, it was obvious that her shoulder was killing her and even more obvious that she was hiding the fact. Chat noticed that her movements were slower and her reaction time lengthier, he knew she needed a break. He smiled softly, quickly running to where Ladybug was. “Hey there LB.” He was finally there for her.

“Hey.” Ladybug smiled, relieved to see him finally there. 

“So what’s his deal?” Chat asked as they dodged another wave.

“I’m not sure, buildings and other items aren’t affected and the people who have been hit were lead away from here… All that I saw was that they were a lot clumsier. He keeps saying he’ll take me to the shadow though, whatever that means.” Ladybug replied, following Chat closely.

“Got it, thanks.” 

“No pro- wait what are you doing??” She asked as he tightly put his arm around her and held her firmly. He took out his staph and extended it making them travel skywards, he was taking Ladybug away from the fight. “Chat!” She exclaimed tiredly. He then leaned back, letting them gracefully fall towards a building far away from Shadowvoice.

Shadowvoice gritted his teeth angrily, singing once more as a desperate attempt to hit them.

“You just stay here and rest okay? You’ve done more than enough.” He ruffled her hair, getting ready to leap back into battle.

“Chat I’m not just going to leave you!” She retorted, knowing full well Chat couldn’t stop her even if he wanted to. “We’re a team and we fight together! If he attacks you he attacks us both!” She pleaded, desperately hoping he’d listen to reason. Chat took a moment to look at her, he knew she would just charge right into battle for him…but not because she loved him.

“Ladybug,” he put a hand on her shoulder, “let me take care of this one. I can handle him.” He implored. “Or do you not believe in me?” This stung her, hard.

“How could you think that?” She whispered clearly hurt. “We’re a team.” She repeated softly, tightening her hands into a fist. Chat intended on somehow convincing her to stay back, not hurt her even more than she already was. He looked sadly at her, realizing there really wasn’t anything he could do to make her stay.

“How about we compromise?” He tried to act positive, hoping to bring up Ladybug’s spirits. She looked at him, ready to hear him out. “We fight together. I fight him head on and you stay far away enough away not to get hit but close enough to back me up. Deal?” He raised his right hand, offering to shake on it. Ladybug hesitated, she wanted to be more than just a support but she knew her limits. Reluctantly, she shook his hand.

“Deal.” She sighed, getting ready to follow Chat back into battle. He nodded, extended his stick and began to move back towards the enemy with Ladybug following him closely behind. It wasn’t long before they were once again in the battleground. Everything was as they left it…except for one little detail: Shadowvoice was nowhere to be seen.


	10. Chapter 10

“Where could he be?” Ladybug questioned.

“I don’t know.” Chat was half anxious to find him and quickly defeat him, but also half relieved that Ladybug could have a few extra minutes away from the fight to rest up. He walked closer to her, once again putting an arm around her with a firm grip. “Going up.” He smiled, lifting them to the sky.

“You have got to stop doing that.” Ladybug grunted, letting herself be lifted. Once they reached a sufficient height, both Ladybug and Chat Noir started searching for the villain. “Do you see him?” She asked.

“No.” He continued to search, and then he saw a flash of white moving towards the TVi studio. “Wait, there!” He instinctively directed them towards the studio.

“I see him.” Ladybug stared at him, getting ready to attack at a moments notice as they fell towards Shadowvoice who quickly entered the studio. 

“What does he want in there?” Chat carefully landed in front of the building, making sure his bluebell eyed companion didn’t feel the impact of the fall. 

“Whatever it is, we have to stop him.” Ladybug thought it could be for a personal vendetta of some sort, but she couldn't be certain….especially since she had no clue as to who was under that mask. She started running towards the building, but quickly came to a halt when Chat grabbed her right hand. She glared at him, losing patience…she just wanted to get this over with and go home.

“Let me go first.” Chat pleaded, his dazzling green eyes revealing pure worry.

“Okay.” She sighed. Chat smiled gently, relieved she didn’t argue against his request. “Chat, I know I can’t fight like this…” She sighed, deciding to address the elephant in the room. “…but please don’t start asking me to simply abandon you! I can still help you in the fight even if all I do is distract Shadowvoice. We’re a team right?” She smiled softly. 

“Right.” He smiled back, squeezing her hand gently. “Shall we?” She nodded. He reluctantly let go of her hand and entered the building, followed by Ladybug. 

Chat didn’t know what he was hoping to see, a room filled with the studio’s employees working would be a plausible guess or maybe people hiding from the akuma...but what he and Ladybug saw was completely unexpected. There were people scurrying around aimlessly, stumbling desperately and falling miserably; some stood still, sitting in a small corner, others attempted to go to somewhere but doing so with an unknown fear. People were crying, screaming in frustration and others were silently still, whimpering alone. Surprisingly, all of their eyes were closed. 

“What happened here?” Ladybug stared wide eyed, refusing to believe what she was seeing. Chat Noir couldn’t answer her… He looked at her, seeing he horror in her eyes and feeling a similar sentiment.

“Ladybug? Is that you?” A familiar voice was heard. Nadja Chamack, mother to the beautiful young girl Marinette babysat from time to time and also a popular news reporter.

“Yes I’m here! Chat Noir too.” She walked over towards the fuchsia haired woman and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “How can we help you.”

“Ladybug… Please, look after my daughter. There’s a young girl named Marinette who can take care of her… Take my daughter to her… Please!” She implored, always the protective mother. “And stop this madman before he makes things worse.” She was trembling, but held her composure strictly. 

“Of course.” Ladybug nodded. “Are you okay?”

“No… I’m- all of us are in the shadow.” She whispered softly, shaking slightly more violently. “Please Ladybug, get us out of here.” Ladybug and Chat stared at each other in confusion, trying to understand what she meant. 

“Where did he go?” Chat looked around him, everyone was turning their heads towards them- towards the sound of hope.

“He went after Alec, and mentioned something about three judges?” She struggled to remember. “There was a competitive show a few hours ago… France has Talent. I can’t remember who he was but I can tell you he went to rec room 3.”

“Who were the judges?” Chat looked at her.

“The Mayor, Bob Roth and XY I think.” Nadja sighed, wishing she could be more helpful. 

“Thanks, we’ll make sure all of you get out of… the shadow.” Marinette said determined, looking at Chat.

“Yeah. Thanks again Mrs. Chamack. Let’s go Ladybug.” Ladybug wondered how he knew Nadja’s name, but tossed the thought aside realizing she was a well known reporter. ‘So he watches the news, that doesn’t mean he knows her personally.’ She thought, wondering why she was thinking about Chat at a time like this. 

They both scurried towards the recording room, ready to fight at a moments notice, when they stormed into the room they saw Alec. He was left untouched in the middle of the room, but his eyes were closed. “Are you okay?” Chat walked slowly towards him, leaving Ladybug to watch over the doorway. 

“Careful Chat, he might still be here.” Ladybug was on guard, her eyes shifting from the corners of the room to Chat. 

“Aw, I knew you cared.” He joked, hoping to lift some of the tension from her- it worked. She smirked and rolled her eyes, once more looking around for any possible threats. Alec was shivering alone, in fear. Chat placed both hands on his shoulders, hoping to snap him out of his frenzied daze. “Are you okay?” He repeated. 

“N-no. I’m in the shadows… In the shadows… Colbey… I’m sorry! Give me back my sight!” Alec pleaded. 

“Colbey?” Chat asked. 

“Colbey Jones, one of the contestants.” Alec crossed his arms, trying to comfort himself. Chat turned around to look at Ladybug, hoping she might know something more. 

Instead he stared wide eyes and yelled. “LADYBUG!! Behind you!” He started running towards her in a cat-like demeanor, before Shadowvoice could do anything. Ladybug understood clearly, grabbing her yoyo and spinning around quickly, using the spin as a boost to through her yoyo powerfully towards whoever was behind her…

…but it was too late. 

Shadowvoice started to sing, hitting her with his waves as she hit him with her yoyo. She closed her eyes, expecting a world of pain. Shadowvoice fell backwards, falling out of the room. Chat went over to Ladybug, turning her towards him. He examined her, glad to see there was no damage… But her eyes were closed. 

“Ladybug, open your eyes.” Chat Noir placed a hand on her cheek, tilting her head up to look at him. Marinette fluttered her eyes open, expecting to see Chat Noir staring right back at her…but she didn’t. Instead she saw darkness, but not the normal turn-off-the-lights darkness, but the darkness that made the toughest of the tough shiver in fear, the darkness that could turn even the most confident of people into cowards, and the darkness that brought out the darkest of emotions. Ladybug finally understood what the victims meant by the shadow. “Ma- Ladybug…your eyes.” He whispered softly, staring at the pure black orbs located where Marinette's eyes should be. 

A loud thump could be heard on the doorway, Shadowvoice locked them in. He would have gone and finished the fight, but the blow he received from Ladybug knocked the air out of him…he couldn’t sing without his lungs aching, which is why he decided to lock them inside and come back later when he could fight again. Ladybug couldn’t believe she didn’t look behind her; she was so focused on scanning the room she completely ignored the possibility that he wasn’t in said room and now she was not only injured, but also blind.

Chat tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. He walked back over to Ladybug and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry My Lady, I’ll get us out of here.” He smiled, trying to sound as positive as he could. 

“No. You should go on without me… I’ll only mess up again.” She looked towards where she thought Chat Noir was standing… She was only 50 degrees off. “Besides, Alec will need someone to keep him company.” She was heartbroken, and the darkness she saw only worsened her resolve. “And Chat… You should take my miraculous. It’s not safe with me anymore.” She closed her eyes, holding back the tears that were forming. “Give them… Give them to someone who-“ 

Chat refused to listen to her anymore; he brought her in to a hug holding her tightly,unwilling to let her go. “Ladybug, I’m not leaving you. We’re a team remember? I’m going to get us out of here so we can find a way to defeat him… Together.” She didn’t know whether it was his words or his actions, but Chat Noir somehow managed to bring hope back into Ladybug’s heart. “I’m not going to let anything else happen to you, I’ll protect you.” He promised, slowly releasing Ladybug from his hold. “Now let’s go kick some tail.” He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah.” Ladybug nodded, feeling a new confidence surge inside her. 

“Cataclysm!” Chat yelled, slashing the door with his claws and destroying it. He grabbed Ladybug’s hand, holding it tightly. “Lets go.” He said, starting to walk out of the room. “Oh wait!” He looked behind him. “We should probably take him to the others.” With his free hand he quickly grabbed Alec’s hand, and began leading them out of the recording room and where everyone else was. After placing Alec on a chair, he looked at Ladybug. “Where should we go?” He asked.


	11. Chapter 11

“He has a grudge against the judges right? If we reach one of them before he does we can set a trap.” Ladybug thought carefully. “Alec did he say which judge he was going for first?” 

“Bob and XY are working on XY’s new album right now so he’s going after them first.” Alec said, facing the wall.

“Thanks Alec.” The duo quickly left the building, getting ready to move out to where Shadowvoice’s next victims were.

The weather outside was starting to get cold as it started to become night. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir shivered slightly. “Are you feline cold My Lady?” Chat asked, noticing her shivering too. “I know I am.” He mumbled.

“A bit, we should hurry up and go towards one of the Judges.”

“So we should go see Bob and XY fir-“ Chat started.

“We should get the Mayor.” Ladybug interrupted, placing a hand on her chin in thought. “It’s a long shot and if we mess up it’s going to be a lot harder to get the akuma out… wherever it is…” She sighed. “But if we get this right everyone will get out of the shadows.” Ladybug gently placed a finger on her closed eyes, desperately wanting her eyesight back.

“Shadows? Isn’t it just darkness?” Chat Noir asked, quite confused as to why everyone affected by the akuma referred to being blind as being ‘in the shadows.

“Well, it’s hard to explain… but when I open my eyes I don’t just see pitch black, I see despair and fear. It’s horrible… which is probably why everyone is keeping their eyes closed, like me.” Ladybug explained. Chat stared at her for a bit, smiled and squeezed her hand tightly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you your normal eyesight back.” He picked her up with ease, taking out his staph. “So to the mayor?” Ladybug nodded, Chat smiled extending his staph and quickly taking them to the Grande Paris Hotel… or at least that’s what would have happened if his miraculous hadn’t started beeping. “Oh no.” 

He couldn’t just leave Ladybug to fend off by herself, but he was about to transform back into Adrien anytime soon. Ladybug had been out fighting Shadowvoice for too long, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could take the pain radiating from her arm…but she couldn’t risk having Chat Noir transform mid-battle. ‘Just a little longer…’ She encouraged herself.

“Chat your miraculous.” Ladybug thought for a moment. “Why don’t you go somewhere quickly and recharge it… I can wait here for you.” As soon as she said that, Chat tightened his grip.

“I’m not leaving you alone Princess.” The tone of his voice was serious, a tone Marinette had never heard from Chat.

“Okay, do you think you can make it to the hotel?” She placed her arms around him, preparing to hold tightly for whenever he starts to travel. “You can get a room and recharge while I wait in the lobby.” She reasoned.

“I can make it… but I’m still not leaving you alone My Lady. ” He winked… and then he realized she couldn’t see him. “I winked by the way.” She needed to know.

“But your- wait did you seriously just tell me you winked?” She face-palmed, giggling sweetly. Chat chuckled, grinning.

“Yeah, I did. Anyways, hold on tightly Bugaboo!” He extended his staph, hastily traveling to the hotel. 

When they reached their destination, Chat’s miraculous beeped again warning him about the little amount of time he had. He promptly placed Ladybug on the ground, once more holding her hand (only enjoying the situation a bit) and led them inside the hotel. “Ladybug! Chat Noir!” The mayor saw them, clasped his hands together and smiled grandiosely. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You’re in danger mayor.” Ladybug went straight to the point. “We’re going to need your help to capture the akuma… but first would you mind lending Chat a room and some cookies?” 

“Hold back on the cookies, could you give me Camembert instead?” Ladybug turned her head towards Chat.

“Camembert?” She whispered, not expecting him to be so specific with his cheese. Chat simply shrugged.

“It’s what my kwami likes.” He whispered back.

“Of course!” Mayor dropped his smile, worrying for his safety. “Upstairs, room 404. I’ll send in a butler to take the Camembert to you soon.” He picked up a key, and handed it to Ladybug deciding not to question why she was keeping her eyes closed.

“Thanks Mayor Bourgeois.” Ladybug smiled, giving the key to Chat. “You should hide in your room for now, we’ll come get you in a bit.” He nodded, and started to run towards his room. 

“Alright, let’s go Ladybug.” Chat started directing her to the elevator, and then towards the room…it took him some time to find it since the Hotel was so huge and had so many hallways. He quickly closed the door behind them once they entered the room. Not a second after, there was a knock on the door. Chat let go of Ladybug’s hand and opened it quickly, seeing the cheese and grabbing it from the butler. “Thanks!” He smiled closing the door speedily, soon transforming back into Adrien. “That was close.”

“Tell me about it.” Plagg sighed, and then he noticed Ladybug standing awkwardly in the room with her eyes closed. “What’s she doing here?” Plagg glared at Adrien, taking the cheese from him.

“Oh uh, Marinette this is Plagg… My kwami.” He introduced Ladybug to the new voice. “Ladybug lost her sight during the battle, so she can’t really see who I am.” Ladybug thought the voice coming from Chat sounded familiar, but decided not to think too much about it hoping to avoid figuring out who he really was.

“Hey Plagg. It’s nice to meet you.” She waved at him… or where she thought he was. She ended up waving towards a wall. Plagg took a bite off of the cheese and flew over to where she was.

“Hey Ladybug.” He ate another bite. “It’s nice to finally meet you! A- And I have to know… do you like cheese?” Plagg nearly said Adrien’s name, but managed to cover it up with a brilliant. Adrien shook his head, amazed at how horrible his save was. 

“Uh… Sure. Cheese is good.” Ladybug frowned slightly confused. There was a moment of awkward quiet.

“So Ladybug!” Adrien clasped his hands together, trying to put an end the eerie silence. “Plagg might take a while to eat the cheese, would you like to sit down?” He walked over to her and grabbed her hand again. 

Before, the thought of having to have Chat hold on to her hand annoyed Ladybug, but for some reason she seemed to like it now. “Oh, uh, yes. Please.” She tucked her lips into a small smile, letting Chat lead her to one of the many comfortable sofas in the room. “Thanks.” She leaned on the back of the sofa, feeling quite exhausted.

“How’s your arm?” Adrien asked, noticing how limp her arm looked beside her. Ladybug stared at him for a moment, putting on a sympathetic smile.

“It’s fine.” She said. “I barely feel it.” Her shoulder was screaming at her, begging her to stop moving and rest up, but Marinette refused to listen. “I still have fight in me yet!” She forced herself to move her left arm up; flexing it in hopes of proving to Chat it was fine and that there was nothing to worry about.

“Ladybug…” He frowned, watching as she placed her arm back down painfully. He squeezed her hand again, trying to comfort her in some way.

“I’m ready!” Plagg said, hovering towards Adrien. 

‘You have the worst timing Plagg.’ He thought, letting go of Ladybugs hand and standing up. “All right. Plagg, claws out!”

The mayor was walking in circles, wondering why Ladybug and Chat Noir were taking forever to come over to him. When he heard the doors open and saw the two come in, he sighed in relief. “So what’s the plan?” 

“Chat, describe the room for me.” Marinette whispered, low enough so that only Chat could hear.

“Wow, that’s a really fine table you have there Mayor! Centered right bellow a beautiful chandelier and with a computer right on top of it, not to mention the TV right behind the desk chair… And those shelves on the wall… Amazing. Although, you should be really careful with where you put your stuff mayor… Your belt really shouldn’t be left on the hanger by the door… That’s where you should keep your coats.” The mayor stared at him, quite confused.

“Alright, but what does this have to do with the villain that’s after me?” He asked.

“You’re right, sorry.” Chat sheepishly smiled. Suddenly, he flicked his ears. “He’s here.” He heard a distant singing coming from a few levels bellow. “What’s the plan LB?” He asked.

“Lucky charm!” Ladybug threw her yoyo up, hoping to get something good. An oddly shaped item landed on her hands, she had no idea what it was.

“A CD?”


	12. Chapter 12

“What are we going to do with a CD?” Chat asked, already knowing to trust the Lucky Charm but still refusing to believe a CD could do much damage against a villain. 

“Mayor, how loud can your computer’s speakers be?” Ladybug handed Chat the disk, letting go of his hand. He walked over to the Mayor’s computer and inserted the CD in the disk tray, raising the volume to the max. 

“It gets pretty loud! It’s a new speaker from the XY brand… I only buy the best after all.” The Mayor bragged, walking over to Chat to see what he was doing. 

"Alright, set up complete.” He stood up, walking over to Ladybug again. 

“Close the door behind us, and lock it to buy us some time in case he gets here before we’re done.” Chat nodded, doing as Ladybug said. “Do the shelves have books?” 

“Yes.” Chat went over to one and grabbed a book. 

“Ok, get the belt and fasten it on the book. Use the chandelier as a pulley and let go of the belt when you think the book will hit him. Mayor, I want you to sit down and pretend you’re working. The moment Shadowvoice enters the room blast the song and get under your table and run out of the room when I tell you to. We’ll handle the rest. Think you can do that?” The mayor nodded. Ladybug waited patiently for his answer. 

“Are you sure you can do this mayor? We need you to trust us completely.” Chat said, hinting at Ladybug that the mayor agreed with her. 

“Yes.” He nervously sat down on his chair, preparing himself to blast the song (whatever it was) at full volume. 

“Chat, where do you think would be the best hiding place? One so that I can easily get up and throw my yoyo at the direction of the table?” She tried so make it seem like a genuine question, hoping the mayor wouldn’t realize she was actually blind. 

“Over here My Lady!” He grabbed her hand and led her to a corner in the room, directing her body towards the table. “You should squat down so he doesn’t see you, and get up when you throw it.” 

“That’s a great idea!” Ladybug was glad Chat was playing along, she needed the mayor to know he could trust them and knowing that she was blind might raise some doubts. 

“Thanks Ladybug.”

“The akuma is in the mike right?” Ladybug asked, remembering Shadowvoice always used his mike to sing.

“Yeah, I think so.” Chat agreed. “Alright well I’ll be behind the desk with the belt.” He grabbed he belt and followed Ladybug’s instructions, looping the belt around the book and over the chandelier. He was glad the mayor needed such a big belt to go over his waist, a size smaller and the belt wouldn’t be long enough to reach over the chandelier and below the desk where Chat was hiding. Soon, Ladybug’s set up was complete, and now all they had to do was wait. 

Minutes passed before loud footsteps could be heard. “Oh mayor!” A beautiful voice sang. Shadowvoice tried to open the door, but it was locked. He gritted his teeth, kicking the door open. “That was very rude of you mayor, aren’t you going to welcome me in?” He laughed. “No? Well I welcome you to the shadows anyways!” He opened his mouth to sing, but the mayor quickly pressed play, blasting the agonizing sound on full volume and ducking under the table, staring at Chat Noir and hoping Ladybug’s plan worked. Everyone in the room cringed, the CD was a well recorded audio file of nails on a chalkboard, a perfect agony to anyone’s ears. 

Shadowvoice placed his hands on his ears, angrily stomping towards the desk. He swung his hand across the table, pushing the computer off of it and destroying the cursed system that was blasting that horrendous noise. Shadowvoice then leaned over the table. 

“Come out Mayor!” He yelled in a sing song voice. “That was just rude!” Chat Noir released his grip on the belt, letting the book hit Shadowvoice on the back of his head. In surprise, he let go of his mike and grabbed his aching head with both hands. 

“Now! Ladybug!” Chat beckoned to her. Ladybug stood up quickly, and threw her yo-yo towards where Chat had positioned her. She got him. Chat then stood up, glad to see Ladybug managed to tie up the akuma with her yo-yo. “Get out mayor!” The mayor immediately crawled out from under the desk and scurried out of his room, closing the doors behind him. Chat picked up the mike quickly and ran over to Ladybug. 

“Do you have it?” She asked. 

“Yeah.” He took one of her hands and gave her the mike. 

“Let me go!” Shadowvoice demanded, struggling to free himself. Just as Ladybug hoped, he couldn’t do anything without the mike. 

“Get the belt and tie him.” Ladybug tightly gripped the microphone. “I’m afraid I need my yo-yo.” Chat did as she asked, tying the belt around Shadowvoice and restricting his movement. 

“Done!” Ladybug nodded, yanking back her yo-yo and releasing Shadowvoice. 

“Tell me where the akuma flies.” She threw the mike on the floor and crushed it with a stomp. Soon, a beautiful black butterfly emerged from the remains and began to fly away. 

“It’s going towards your two O’clock!” Chat warned her. Ladybug took a deep breath, depending on Chat’s directions and Tikki’s luck, and threw her yo-yo towards where she thought the butterfly went. She bit her lip nervously…

…and sighed in relief when she heard the all too familiar sound of the butterfly getting caught. “Time to de-evilize you!” She chanted happily. Her yoyo glowed softly, purifying the Akuma. “Bye bye little butterfly!” She released the gorgeous white insect, letting it fly back to its home. “Chat can you get me that CD?” She asked. 

Chat nodded, walking over towards the trashed computer and ejecting her CD… Hoping never to hear such an awful sound ever again. He handed her the CD and smiled. “Here you go princess.” Ladybug grinned right back at him, taking the CD and tossing it to the air. 

“Miraculous Ladybug!” She gleamed. A beautiful burst of ladybugs flew over the city of Paris, restoring the destruction the akuma caused, and returning the citizens’ eyesights.

Ladybug kept her eyes closed, afraid of what she’d see if she opened them again. She bit her lip nervously, building up courage. She suddenly felt a hand on her good shoulder. “It’s okay, open your eyes Princess.” Chat encouraged her. She nodded and slowly opened her eyes and saw Chat smiling at her with a gleam in his eyes. “See? I told you we’d get your sight back.” 

Ladybug had no idea what came over her, but she opened her arms wide and hugged him tightly ignoring the numbing pain in her shoulder. “Thank you.” She whispered softly. Chat had no idea how to react, this was the first time Ladybug ever did something like this. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, blushing slightly. 

“What am I doing here?” Colbey grunted, breaking the serenity of the moment. Ladybug fluttered her eyes wide open, realizing what she was doing. She reluctantly let go of Chat, blushing softly.

“Sorry.” She mumbled, reaching for her yo-yo. “I…have to go.” She scurried over to the windows, opened one and quickly and jumped out. She was red on the face, her heart was beating too fast. ‘What was I doing?’ She thought, swinging back towards Master Fu’s house.


	13. Chapter 13

“Bye...” He whispered as he saw Ladybug leave. He wondered what exactly had happened, why she decided to leave so quickly and why she was heading towards the opposite direction from her home. “How are you feeling?” He sighed looking at Colbey, who was still tied. 

"I’m okay…” He responded, gladly allowing Chat Noir to untie him. “Thank you.” He said, picking up his, no longer broken, mike from the floor. Chat nodded and looked at the time, remembering he had to be at the school eventually for the Gorilla to pick him up. His eyes opened widely, he had four minutes to get there, find his bag, transform and look like he spent the entire day studying. He looked at Colbey and smiled. 

“Bye Mr. Mewsician! See you later.” He soon jumped out out the window, heading towards where he became transformer. “I left it around here somewhere.” He mumbled looking for the bag he had dropped. It took him a few minutes but eventually he found it, and quickly traveled to the school. After getting there, he then found an empty classroom to transform in and soon became Adrien again. He sighed, completely relieved that he got there in time. He calmly walked outside of the school, trying his best to look like he came out of a three hour long study session. He then saw Nino and Alya sitting on a bench just outside the school. 

“Hey guys!” He waved at them and smiled. He noticed Alya was frowning angrily. “What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“That monster, Chloe. She pushed Marinette this morning and now got me in trouble for calling her out on it.” She gritted her teeth angrily, Nino placed an arm around her to try and comfort her. 

“What do you mean?” Adrien asked, wide eyed. 

“She insisted it was an accident, and I insisted it wasn’t. The little liar pretended to cry so Ms. Bustier wouldn’t get her in trouble. Of course the teacher told me not to be so mean, and to forgive her because accidents happen. Urg, she’s so frustrating!” Alya sighed. “Not to mention Marinette went AWOL. She isn’t answering any of my calls.” 

“I’m sure she was just asleep or something.” Adrien immediately tried to cover up for Marinette, knowing she was busy being Ladybug. “I’m sorry about Chloe though, she can be a bit… difficult sometimes.” 

“A bit?” Alya sighed, but then she realized something. “I’m still worried about Marinette though, but I can’t go see her today since I have to babysit my siblings.” She said sadly. “And Nino will be too busy with his DJ preparations so he can’t go for me.”

“I am?” He looked confused at her. Alya jabbed him with her elbow, hoping he’d shut his mouth and play along. “I am!” He realized what she was doing. “Sorry Alya, I know how much this is important to you but…” He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I can go see her.” Adrien volunteered, not really realizing that he was falling for Alya’s act. He smiled, glad he had an excuse to go see Marinette. 

“Are you sure?” Alya pretended to feel guilty. “I know it’s so much to ask but…”

“I’m sure.” Adrien nodded. Alya held back a grin, Marinette would so owe her one after this. 

“Thanks Adrien.” She smiled sweetly. 

"No p-" Adrien started, but was interrupted by a loud honk. “Gorilla’s here.” He sighed. “I’ll tell him to pull up at Marinette’s place.” He waved at his two friends and quickly went to the car, he noticed Nathalie wasn’t there…good. “Hey, can we take a detour?” Adrien asked as he got in the car, his personal driver nodded. “Sweet! Thanks.” He remembered Ladybug went to a different direction from her house, probably somewhere close to where she was fighting Shadowvoice. He started directing Gorilla towards where he hoped he’d find her. 

Meanwhile, Marinette was back at Master Fu’s house. She had gotten her bag, and knocked on his door…hoping to continue healing. “Master Fu?” Her voice was soft, but loud enough for him to hear her. Tikki was sitting in her bag, eating a cookie and regaining her energy. 

“Ah, welcome back young miss.” Master Fu smiled, opening his door for her. “How is your sister?” He asked. 

“My sister?” Marinette was confused for a second. “Oh!” She remembered that was the excuse she used. “She’s fine, she was still in school so nothing bad had happened to her.” She smiled sheepishly, hoping he believed her lie. 

“That is good to hear. And your arm?” He looked at her shoulder, noticing how swollen it looked. “It looks worse.” 

"I, uh…fell again! Somehow I landed on my shoulder.” She looked at her shoulder, glad she had her arm back in the sling. “Can you still heal it?” She asked, hoping he would say yes. 

“Of course, come in.” He motioned for her to come inside. 

“Thank you.” She smiled, sitting down where she was before. Soon, she felt the familiar heat on her shoulder, calming the intense pain she felt. 

Minutes passed before the heat went away “that’s the most I can do for now.” Master Fu stood up, he looked exhausted. “But come back in two days, and I’ll finish healing you by then.” 

“Oh, thank you.” Marinette stood as well, bowing her head gently. “I mean it, thank you.” Master Fu smiled warmly, he was glad he had chosen the girl in front of him to be Ladybug. Marinette calmly walked out, waving at Master Fu and closing the door behind her. 

“I wish I could do more for her.” Master Fu sighed, feeling exhausted. 

Marinette walked alone, letting Tikki rest in her purse. At some point Tikki had fallen asleep while they were in Master Fu’s house. Marinette’s arm no longer hurt as badly as before, but she still felt some numbing pain. She frowned slightly, shivering a bit. “It’s cold.” She mumbled as she walked. Unfortunately, the walk home is a long one…but today she had luck on her side. 

“Stop the car!” Adrien said quickly once he saw Marinette. “That’s one of my classmates…” He pretended to be surprised that he saw her. “We should give her a ride home.” Adrien knew he was being obvious, but he didn't care. Gorilla nodded his head and drove the car closer to that strange girl Adrien wanted to help. He stopped the car right in front of her. 

Marinette blinked, quite confused. Why was there a random car just parked there, in front of her as if it was waiting for her? Her creative mind gave her an answer, one that made her slowly back away and turn around. She would’ve ran, but she heard a familiar voice call out to her. 

“Wait, Marinette!” Adrien shouted, getting out of the car. Marinette looked back, seeing Adrien walking towards her. “It’s me!” He smiled charmingly at her. 

“Oh! Hi-llo! I mean helly!” No wait…hi!” She shook her head, greatly disappointed in her lack of sense. “Wh-what are you doing here!!” She quickly asked, trying to forget about her amazing inability to say hello, hey or hi. 

“I was going home, but I saw you and thought that maybe you’d like a ride home?” Adrien offered, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to become closer friend with her. 

“I don’t want to bother you! I’m sure you’re busy…” Marinette wanted nothing else but to say yes. Not only was she no longer going to be out walking in the freezing cold, but her crush offering to take her home… Adrien Agreste was offering to give her a ride. She felt she should’ve been more excited but something kept her from fully appreciating this situation. 

“It’s no trouble.” He smiled “Come on.” He took her hand and lead her to the car. 

"Th-thank you!!” She fluttered her eyes, feeling her face heat up slightly. She looked at her hand, Adrien was holding it…but her heart didn’t flutter around like it should have. She was still happy about everything that was happening right now, but she if this had been a normal day she would have been jumping around in excitement. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ She wondered as she entered the car. 

“Don’t mention it.” Adrien closed the door, letting go of Mari’s hand. Marinette gave Gorilla directions to her house, talking with Adrien during the entire ride. “So what were you doing over here? Alya said you went straight home after Chloe pushed you… How’s your arm by the way?” He asked, curious to find out what his lady was doing. 

"My arm’s fine! It hurt a bit but now I barely feel it.” Adrien knew that she was probably lying, but he decided not to mention it. “And I was just at a friend’s house.” She wasn’t sure how she could explain Master Fu and what she was doing at his house. “The bakery was closed at the time, so he told me to come over. He’s been helping me get better.” She sheepishly said, thinking it better to just stick with this lame excuse. 

“Oh. That’s nice of him.” Adrien forced a smile…trying his best not to jump into conclusions. He felt his heart sink as jealousy took over. He wanted her to go to him, or Chat! Not some other guy he didn’t even know… What if she fell in love with him? Adrien knew he couldn’t decide who she wanted to be with, but he really wanted it to be him. 

"Yeah.” Marinette agreed, blushing softly at Adrien’s smile… She thought it looked fake, but it was still really hot. “Oh, we’re here.” She said partially sadly, but partially glad. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to get home as quickly as possible. 

“Yeah, I guess we are.” Adrien tried not to sound jealous. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow Marinette!” He waved at her as she got out of the car. 

“I’ll see you then! Thanks again for the ride!” Marinette smiled, waving at Adrien and his driver and quickly went back inside. “Hey Maman! Papa!” She grinned, glad to see her family again. She hugged them both. “How was your day?” She asked. 

“Well, we got an excellent amount of costumers today! And you won’t guess who came in our shop!” Marinette’s mother cheered, eager to tell her daughter about her conversation with Adrien. 

“Who?” She asked, placing placing her bag down and helping her dad move some pastries onto one of the tables. 

“Adrien.” Marinette blinked, not quite sure what to think. “He said he wanted to talk to you about something.” Sabine smiled. “I think he likes you.” Marinette blushed. 

“Wh-what?? No way! He probably just had a question about school or something!” She wanted to believe her, but she also didn’t. Sabine laughed gently, deciding to mention this again some other time. 

“So where were you all day missy?” Tom asked, ruffling his daughter’s hair. 

“I was at a friend’s house!” She decided to recycle the lie she told Adrien and reuse it on her parents. 

"Did you have fun?” He smiled at her as he went back towards the kitchen. 

“Yeah! They’re pretty nice.” Marinette picked up her bag again. “Well, I’m off to go work on some homework!” She said, excusing herself out of the shop and making her way up the stairs and into her room. She felt slightly disappointed when she noticed it was empty. “What is missing?” She wondered out loud, her thoughts went to Chat. She blushed mildly. “No way! It-it’s probably something else!” She sat down, opening her bag and carefully taking Tikki out. She smiled, placing her on the bed. 

Marinette was soon doing her homework, finally managing to catch up to all of the lessons she missed… But from time to time she would look out the window, hoping to see a familiar face tap on it and come in. “Chat…” She whispered softly, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. “I really like him don’t I?” She sighed, finally admitting the truth to herself. Eventually she went to bed, gently moving Tikki onto a pillow and making room for herself. She was a bit unwilling to close her eyes, a bit traumatized from the day’s events but she closed them regardless. She wanted the next day to come soon, hoping Chat would come see her again in the morning. 

After an hour of tossing and turning, with too many things on her head ranging from Chat to fear of the shadow she saw and even to what she was going to wear for Nino’s party, she gave up on the notion of sleep. She sighed walking towards her computer. “One a.m.” She mumbled miserably, staring at the time. She had finished all of her homework, and she didn’t have any assignments left to do, her room was clean and she was afraid of messing around with the computer and accidentally waking her parents. “What can I do?” She groaned, sitting on her chair. 

'Are you feline cold My Lady?’ She remembered Chat saying earlier before. ‘I know I am.’ She smiled, looking at the mountains of fabric and yarn she had laying around her room. “I know what I’m going to do.” She whispered to herself, moving around the room and getting everything she needed.


	14. Chapter 14

Marinette woke up with someone taping on her shoulder. “Marinette?” Chat whispered, gently waking her up. There was fabric and yarn scattered around her room, a new sight for Chat. He was used to her organized room, carefully cleaned and always neat…seeing the room so messy made him smile fondly. Marinette’s room felt cozy to him, it not only gave him comfort but also warmth –something lacking in his own home. “Princess? He wrapped his arms around her gently, shaking her softly. “You’ll be late to school if you don’t wake up.” 

Marinette slowly opened her tired eyes. “What time is it?” She slowly sat up straight. She realized she had slept on her desk, probably passing out at some point during her project. She looked over at the clock on her computer. “Oh no…” She mumbled, immediately waking up. “I’m going to be late!” She started to stand up, but that’s when she realized Chat was standing right beside her. In a moment of blind panic, she threw a punch and yelled. 

“Ow… Princess.” Chat whined, placing a hand on his chest, where Marinette punched him. “What was that for?”

“Oh Chat I’m so sorry!” She walked over to him. “I panicked…” She mumbled, making Chat laugh. “What are you doing here anyways? And how’d you get in?” She asked. ‘Not that I mind seeing you.’ She thought, making herself red. She then remembered her project and quickly hid it under some fabric while Chat was busy laughing. She hoped he didn’t see it, especially since it wasn’t ready yet. 

“I’m still your groomer.” He winked. “And Tikki unlocked the window for me.” Marinette looked around for Tikki, and found her floating by the window with a cheeky smile on her small, red face. “So why were you sleeping on your desk?” He watched Marinette as she rushed to her closet, grabbing some of her clothes. 

“Couldn’t sleep.” She grunted. “So I decided to work on projects instead.” She walked into the bathroom to change, closing the door behind her but not bothering to lock it…knowing that Chat wouldn’t do anything creepy. 

“Why not?” Marinette soon walked out, fully dressed and with a brush and hair ties on her hand. Chat smiled, walking over towards her and taking her brush and ties from her and starting to work on her hair –deciding he wanted a bun today. 

“I was lost in thought.” She closed her tired eyes as Chat combed her hair back. When he was done she quickly looked for her sling, remembering she left it on her bed since she needed both hands to work. 

“What were you thinking about?” He picked up her bag, trying to help her get ready for school. 

“You.” She mumbled without thinking. “KULELES! Ukuleles!” She quickly said, trying a desperate attempt at covering up her embarrassing slip up. “You know… the instrument?” She forced an awkward laugh. Chat stared at her, thinking she was acting a bit strangely. 

“Ukuleles kept you from sleeping?” He raised a brow. “Are you okay?” He placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘Maybe she’s just really tired.’ He thought.

“Y-yeah!!” She jumped. His face was close, too close… He was looking at her, trying to see if there was something was wrong.

“Marinette! You’re going to be late!” A familiar voice was heard as Sabine called for her daughter.

“I should go.” Chat smiled softly. “Here.” He handed her the bag, quickly walking towards the window. “I’ll see you later, Princess.” He winked, jumping out of the window. 

“B-bye.” Marinette found herself blushing madly standing still while looking at the window. “Oh right! School.” She put on her flats while Tikki flew into her purse. She then rushed down the stairs quickly saying her goodbyes to her parents and hurrying towards school, she did it all in such a haste that she even forgot to eat something for breakfast. She just barely made it into the class before the bell rang. She spotted Alya and smiled giddily, just finally processing the fact that Chat Noir –her Chat Noir– actually came in this morning just for her. 

Unbeknownst to her, Adrien saw that smile. He couldn’t help but stare; it was enchanting and so similar to his mother’s. He smiled softly, almost unnoticeably…but Nino saw it. He stared at Adrien for a moment, and then at Marinette as she walked towards her seat. Nino might’ve not been a cupid like Alya, but he could add two plus two. He smiled, knowing Alya will love to hear the news. 

Marinette quickly sat down, noticing her best friend glaring at her. “Hey Alya.” She placed her bag down beside her.

“Girl, would you mind telling me where you’ve been yesterday?” Alya said calmly. “You weren’t answering your calls. Cute bun though.” Marinette hadn’t even thought about checking her phone. 

“I’m so sorry Alya!” She frowned knowing she couldn’t exactly tell her about her adventures as Ladybug. “I was… sleeping! For the entire day… The medicine really knocks me out.” She laughed awkwardly. She really was bad at lying… not that she cared. Marinette hated liars, it was only fitting that she was a terrible liar. “And thanks.” She smiled softly.

“M, if you got so much sleep then why do you look like you haven’t slept in years?” She looked worriedly at her friend. 

“I kind of stayed up the entire night as an end result.” Marinette shrugged. “My sleep schedule is kind of messed up I guess.” She then smiled. “But enough about me, how are you?” 

“I’m alright, but can you believe I had to stay after school yesterday only to end up seeing Chloe get her way again. That brat needs a reality check. Oh! Not to mention that because I had to stay after I didn’t get to see Ladybug and Chat Noir in action!” She glared at the blonde working on her make-up. “I bet if she wasn’t the mayor’s daughter she’d be in big trouble right now.”

“It’s alright Alya, Chloe may be awful but she’s not worth stressing over. And there will be other Chat Noir and Ladybug fights you can film for your blog, I’m sure your fans will understand.” Honestly, Marinette would be feeling the exact same way as Alya had this happened to her…but her friend didn’t need a bigger incentive to stay angry with Chloe. She was, however, glad Alya didn’t see her. She had forgotten to take out her braids, had Alya seen her she might have made connections with her and Ladybug.

“You’re right. She’ll get what’s coming.” Alya sighed. “Anyways, a little birdie told me that Adrien gave you a little visit yesterday.” She grinned. Marinette blushed slightly and nodded. The two girls whispered to each other about what happened yesterday, Marinette decided not to mention the fact that Adrien had actually given her a ride but instead chose to pretend he just went to visit her home. She was as generic on the events as possible, in case Adrien one day mentions the car ride to Alya… which she thought would be unlikely since he probably didn’t think much about it. They kept on passing notes throughout class (since the teacher would’ve sent them to the principal’s office If they kept talking), but whenever Alya mentioned Adrien Marinette didn’t get as excited as she used to –but Alya didn’t notice.

Soon school ended and Nino quickly grabbed Alya, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone. Adrien would’ve left with Nino but he said he needed to urgently talk to his girlfriend, requesting Adrien to wait in the room with Marinette. 

“So… hi.” Adrien smiled at her, fluttering her heart slightly. 

“Hey.” She smiled back, putting her books in her bag. She had a bit of trouble doing everything one handedly, so she was a lot slower at doing things. Adrien, seeing her struggle, gently took the books from her and put them back in her bag for her. “Thank you.” 

“Are you okay? You seem really out of it.” Adrien hoped to finish their conversation from before when he was in her room as Chat Noir. She never really told him what exactly kept her up so late at night, only mentioning ukuleles for some reason.

“You’re fine!” Marinette blurted, still not the best at communicating with Adrien. “I’m fine!” She quickly corrected herself, feeling her face heat up. She glanced at the door, hoping Alya would save her from her awkwardness. “S-sorry.” She chuckled softly. Adrien stared at her for a bit, remembering what Nino had told him before. 

‘You two don’t really talk to often so she might just not know how to be around you.’ Nino had said. She was still acting differently with Adrien then she did with Chat… Although earlier that day she was acting in a slightly similar manner… Adrien wondered if she started to feel less comfortable with Chat. “So Marinette, “ he started, deciding he’d have to change their relationship somehow, “are you free today?”

Marinette opened her eyes widely. She had been waiting for the longest time to hear those words come from Adrien’s mouth. She literally dreamt about the day where she would hear him say that to her! She smiled, opening her mouth to answer yes… but nothing came out. She wanted to say yes, but her thoughts quickly went to Chat. If she spent the day with Adrien, she wouldn’t get to see Chat. “I…” She wanted to say yes so badly…

“You?” …But…

“Can’t.” …She couldn’t. “I’m sorry.” She bit her lip, looking down. “I already promised someone I’d meet up with them. Maybe some other time?” She looked at him, feeling her heavy heart yearn to change her answer.

“Y-yeah. Some other time then.” Adrien put on a smile, trying desperately not to sound as disappointed as he felt. His thoughts immediately went to the boy who Marinette had spent time with yesterday… He felt he was losing her before he could even get close to her.

“You think we gave them enough time?” Nino asked Alya. They were standing right outside the classroom, making sure nobody went in and disturbed their best friends’ moment. Alya was really excited when Nino told her about the way Adrien was staring at Marinette, and she was determined to set them up once and for all. 

“Yeah, Marinette’s probably freaking out by now.” Alya laughed, knowing her best friend well. The couple entered the room, a bit surprised at the quiet atmosphere. Alya sighed, thinking Marinette was too shy to say anything and missed a golden opportunity. 

“I have to go. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Marinette quickly said goodbye and rushed out of the classroom. She had no idea what she was doing, and honestly she just wanted to go to her room and wait for Chat… hoping that he’d swing by and meet with her. She was even willing an Akuma attack to happen just so she could see him again. She remembered a time where she couldn’t wait to get to school just to see Adrien, and truthfully she probably still would be eagerly waiting until school started again had she not fallen so badly for Chat.

“Marinette, why did you say no to Adrien?” Tikki asked knowing Marinette had the biggest conceivable crush on Adrien.

“Because then I wouldn’t get to see Chat.” She mumbled tiredly. Tikki stayed quiet, smiling softly at the irony of the situation. She so badly wanted to tell Marinette who Chat really was, but it wasn’t her secret to tell.

Marinette, once reaching her home, went straight to her room after talking to her parents and grabbing a croissant to satisfy her hunger. She quickly grabbed the project she had been working on all-night and started to finish it before Chat showed up… if he showed up.

“Alya… Can I talk to you for a second?” Adrien asked after Nino had left. His ride was there, but he didn’t care. He told Gorilla to wait for a few minutes while he talked to his friend.

“Sure, what’s up?” Alya stared at the blonde boy who looked beyond troubled. When Marinette left, Alya assumed it was because she was overly freaking out and had to get out of there…or at least that was the only possible explanation she could come up with. But now as she saw the perplexed expression on Adrien’s face she wasn’t quite sure if she was right.

“Does Marinette hate me?” He looked at her sincerely. Alya stared at him shocked. “Don’t… don’t tell her this but I really like her. I’ve been trying to get closer to her for the past few days but every time I try she gives some sort of excuse and acts so differently then when she’s with you or Nino.” He sighed melancholy. “When I asked Nino why she acts like that, he suggested it was because we never really talk much…but it’s kind of hard when she doesn’t want to talk with me. You know?” Alya placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Oh honey, you’ve never been so wrong before in your life.” Alya shook her head. Not only was Marinette hopeless at love, but so was Adrien. “Marinette doesn’t hate you… she has a massive crush on you.” Adrien’s eyes widened. 

“What?” What Alya said made absolutely no sense… Why would Marinette refuse to talk to him if she liked him so much?

“She’s really shy when it comes to you. For months she’s been trying to get your attention, but she’s clumsy and you never really noticed.” Adrien stared at her dumbfounded, had he really never noticed this before? “Well, I have to go. Don’t tell Marinette I said any of this to you okay? I’ll see you around Adrien.” Alya waved at him, leaving him to his thoughts. “Mari, you so owe me one.” She giggled, walking home.

Adrien got in the car, and sat in silence as his driver took him home. He didn’t understand the info Alya had given him… If Marinette truly liked him, wouldn’t she have said yes to spend time with him? Had he missed his chance with her? Did she fall for someone else? The more he thought about the situation, the more angry and jealous he got. Just who exactly was this mystery boy that Marinette was spending so much time with?

When he arrived at his house, he immediately went up to his room and laid on the bed sulking. “Adrien?” Plagg asked, getting out of Adrien’s bag. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing Plagg. Absolutely nothing.” He groaned, smothering his head in a pile of pillows.

“Is this about Marinette?” Adrien was quiet… Plagg hit the nail. “You should go see her.” He said as he looked for some cheese stashed away in Adrien’s room.

“No, she’s busy with someone else.” He said spitefully, truly believing he had lost his chance with her.

“Okay, then Chat Noir should see her.” Adrien finally looked at Plagg, surprised by his words. Up until now Plagg always hated transforming, he only wanted to sit around and eat cheese. For him to even think about transforming, let alone suggest it, was a surprise. “Really, you might end up surprised with the outcome.” He finally found the Camembert he was looking for, he smiled as he took a bite.

“But what if she doesn’t want to see Chat?” Adrien looked at his ring.

“Who doesn’t want to see Chat Noir?” Plagg grinned. Adrien looked at him for a while before laughing. 

“You’re right. Thanks Plagg.” Adrien stood up, opening one of the windows to his room and getting ready to transform.

“Of course! But stock up on the cheese okay?” Adrien shook his head, one way or another Plagg always had to mention cheese.

“Plagg, claws out!” He yelled, becoming the feline hero known as Chat Noir. He took a deep breath before leaping out of his window and making his way to Marinette’s place.

Marinette had finally finished all of the knitting and sewing she had to do, and she even managed to put it all in a cute blue present box. She hid the gift in her bag, knowing she wouldn’t forget it there. “It looks really nice Marinette!” Tikki said once Marinette put the gift away.

“You think so?” Marinette was excited to see Chat’s reaction when he saw her gift. She worked so hard on it and even managed to get it done quicker just so she could give it to him sooner.

“Yeah! Chat is going to love it.” Tikki cheered, sitting on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Thanks Tikki.” Marinette giggled softly. “Well, I’m going to go downstairs to go eat something befo-“ That’s when she heard a knock on her window, making her heart skip a beat. “Never mind.” She whispered with a smile. She opened the window, smiling once she saw Chat. “Hey Kitty.” She grinned toothily, trying her best not to be as awkward as she’s been with Adrien.

“Hey princess.” Chat grabbed Marinette’s right hand and planted a kiss on it, bowing chivalrously. Marinette had never really fallen for such a cheesy act, but now it made her heart burst with joy. “Missed me?” He winked, expecting Marinette to push him away like she always does…but she didn’t.

“Yeah.” She said without realizing. “I mean, who else is going to groom my hair am I right?” She laughed nervously, mentally slapping herself for such a horrible excuse. Chat raised a brow, wondering what’s going on in Marinette’s head.

“So Princess, what are you doing here all alone? Shouldn’t you be with your friends?” Adrien really couldn’t help himself from asking he had to know. “Are you maybe waiting for someone?” He finally entered Marinette’s room, closing the window behind him.

“No, I’m not waiting on anyone.” Marinette was a bit confused with the random question. Chat didn’t know how to feel; her response had crippled him, but simultaneously gave him such relief. She wasn’t spending time with some random guy… but she didn’t want to spend time with Adrien, with him. “Well, I was waiting for you.” Marinette admitted, blushing slightly. Chat stared at her in pure disbelief. She didn’t want to spend time with Adrien…because she wanted to spend time with Chat. “I-I was wondering…” Marinette took a deep breath; she refused to chicken out, not with Chat. “…if maybe you’d like to go somewhere today?”


	15. Chapter 15

Chat’s heart fluttered inside his chest. Did Marinette really just ask him on a date? Not Adrien, the successful model everyone loves, but Chat Noir? “Chat?” Marinette asked uncertain, fearfully wondering why he didn’t answer her. “I-it’s okay if y-you don’t-“ Marinette started, whispering.

"Yes! I do!" He grinned widely, completely excited. “I mean, “ he took a breath to calm himself, “I’d love to spend the day with you, My Lady.” He bowed charmingly. Marinette rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Where would you like to go?” Marinette opened her mouth to answer, but she hadn’t really thought this far. The movies would be a good idea, but she wanted to be able to talk to him. They could go to a café, but she wasn’t sure if Chat was as hungry as she was. She could take him to the Louvre to look at the many beautiful artworks displayed, but he didn’t seem much of the museum type. “Why don’t we just stroll around Paris?” Chat suggested, realizing Marinette couldn’t think of a place. 

“Sure.” Marinette smiled. Chat then realized something bad; if people saw him with Marinette they might connect her to Ladybug. 

“Marinette, people shouldn’t see you with me. Maybe you should go as Ladybug.” Chat then realized that this might be the perfect opportunity for her to find out who he really was. “Or let me transform back… Either way we can’t let people see Marinette with Chat, that might raise suspicions.” Marinette realized he was right. 

"Chat has a point Marinette.” Tikki finally spoke, still sitting on Marinette’s shoulder. 

“I don’t really want to transform.” Marinette looked at her sling, really unwilling to take it off as Ladybug. If Alya or anyone else that knows Marinette saw Ladybug with a sling, they might be realize who she really was; but thanks to the events of yesterday her shoulder was sore and in pain, sure Master Fu helped but it still wasn’t completely healed. “But you still shouldn’t reveal who you are to me, just to go on a d- just to hang out… not yet anyways.” 

Chat nodded, grinning at her slip up. ‘This was totally going to be a date.’ He was only slightly disappointed she didn’t choose to let him transform back and finally see who he really was…but he could wait a little longer. “So no date?” Marinette blushed, wondering how he could be so nonchalant.

“N-no…” Marinette looked around her room, thinking. She then noticed her closet and smiled. “What if you wore a disguise?” She walked over to her closet, opening it up.

“That could work.” Tikki looked at Chat as Marinette picked through her clothes.

“Y-yeah.” Chat raised a brow, hoping he wouldn’t have to look like a girl just to be with Marinette.

“That’s too small.” Tikki said as Marinette looked at one of her shirts. Marinette nodded and tossed the shirt aside. “No that’s kind of obvious.” 

“Yeah you’re right.” Marinette nodded, throwing out the shirt she was looking at. Chat picked it up from the floor, smirking when he saw the cute kitty shirt she had. “This is…” Marinette started.

“…PERFECT!” Tikki cheered. Chat walked over to the closet after folding the shirt and putting it on Marinette’s bed. He looked over her shoulder, seeing a red hoodie.

“Do you think this would fit?” Marinette put the hoodie against Chat’s chest, trying to find out whether or not it fit. “Looks like it.” Marinette smiled. Chat blinked, this was the first time he saw this designer-like behavior from Marinette; she looked so passionate and concentrated, it was completely different from his father who treated it like a chore. “Sorry that this is so lame… It’s the first piece of clothing I’ve ever made and it’s centuries old and I accidentally got the sizes wrong and made it super big… but at least it fits.” Marinette handed him the hoodie, with a little shy smile on her face.

“Woah, you made this?” Marinette nodded shyly as he looked at her hoodie in awe. “It’s really amazing Marinette.” Chat smiled, putting it on. “And it fits perfectly!” Marinette nervously played with the trim of her shirt.

“Y-you think so?” She asked blushing. “Well, you can keep it if you’d like.” She smiled. “N-not that you’d want to keep such an old hoodie. I mean I’m sure you have better things to wear and-“ Marinette started going on a nervous rant, realizing probably sounded like she thought Chat didn’t have anything better to wear.

“Can I really keep it?” He asked with a smile on his face; not only was he wearing something that Marinette made, but he could keep it too!

“Y-yeah.” She tried really hard to stop her stuttering, but didn’t make much progress. “A-anyway… Here.” She reached behind him with her one good arm, grabbing the hood and pulling it over his head. Chat froze; she was so close to him. Their eyes locked into each other, and Marinette lingered for a moment before reluctantly retracting her arm and quickly went behind him to hide his tail, shoving it into the hood. “There!” She quickly said, trying to hide her flustered expression. “With your tail and ears hidden, you look less like Chat Noir.” She then remembered his mask and went towards her drawer, picked up a pair of sunglasses and put them on him. “And voila, perfect cover for a perfect lover.” She smiled wittily before realizing what she said. “I mean great friend. It’s a perfect cover for a great friend.” She forced a laugh, completely embarrassed.

“Thanks Princess.” He said slowly, watching her with an amused smirk curling his lips. ‘She’s really adorable.’ He thought to himself. “So, shall we?” He extended a hand to her.

“Yeah, but I’m going to go say bye to my parents first.” Chat raised a brow. Whenever Adrien left to be Chat Noir, neither his father nor Nathalie ever really noticed his absence (so long as he was where he had to be at specific times) since they never really cared to check up on him. It wasn’t strange that he was confused by Marinette’s words. “They sometimes like to barge in my room, especially when they think I need something. They might panic if they don’t know where I am, especially since my shoulder is…messed up.” She explained, still not used to the fact that her shoulder is damaged.

“Right, “ he retracted his hand, “so I’ll see you outside?” He had to admit he felt a bit jealous of her, but he was glad she didn’t have to deal with a distant parent like his father.

“Yeah.” She smiled, seeing him leave her room. “Tikki how do I look?” She immediately asked once Chat left. Marinette wasn’t the type of girl that cared much for her appearance; sure she didn’t wear sweat pants and a random tee shirt every day, but she wasn’t like Chloe who always had to look perfect… But today she wanted to look nice; she wanted Chat (the hero who has seen her at her worst) to see her at her best. She wanted him to look at her and think: ‘she’s beautiful.’ 

“You look fine Marinette! Now hurry up and go meet your date!” Tikki chuckled, not really used to seeing Marinette act this way. Marinette smiled, always appreciating Tikki’s support. She grabbed her bag, making sure the present was still there, and opened it so Tikki could get in. There was basically nothing in her big bag, she took out everything aside from the present knowing the less weight the better since her shoulder was still banged up.

She giddily went downstairs, quickly said goodbye to her parents while giving them a silly excuse about how she was going to go meet up with a friend and spend an entire day with them (her mother was only slightly suspicious that it was Adrien); and soon she left the shop.

She looked up, seeing Chat on one of the rooftops waving at her. She smiled, shyly waving back before he leapt down, landing in front of her. “Hey there.” He smirked, placing his hands in his pockets. 

“Hi.” She beamed. The two of them started walking towards nowhere really, they were just walking. They talked about everything and nothing, Chat mentioned how Marinette had some serious skill in Ultimate Mecha Strike III and Marinette complimented Chat’s humor, admitting it was kind of funny. They kept on talking like this and they cherished every second of it. Eventually they made their way into the park, and they continued to walk together ignoring the people passing them by. “Are you hungry?” Marinette asked, noticing a crepe vender.

“A bit.” He smiled, noticing that her beautiful bluebell eyes were ogling the vender. “I’ll be right back.” He tugged on his hood, making sure it was covering his ears well. He reached for his pocket, glad he decided to de-transform and grab some money from his wallet while Marinette was busy getting ready. Marinette blinked, standing still where he left her and feeling quite surprised that he was actually buying her some crepes. 

“Thank you.” She whispered tenderly when he handed her a crepe, blushing slightly at the gesture. “You really didn’t have to…”

“It’s my pleasure.” He smiled. They continued to walk together, and continued to talk for what seemed like forever. “What do you get when you cross a chick with an alley cat?” Chat asked, looking at Marinette.

“I don’t know, what?” By now they had finished eating, and they had left the park and were walking towards the Trocadéro since Marinette mentioned that it’s one of her favorite places to go.

“A peeping tom!” Chat bit his lip to keep from laughing; he really thought it was funny. Marinette stared at him for a second, not sure what was worse: the fact that he made the joke or how he actually thought it was funny. She snickered, finding it endearing how he would always make stupid cat jokes and puns to try and make her laugh. Chat gazed at her fondly, a smile making its way on his lips. Without thinking, he moved his hand slightly taking a hold of hers.

“I know I’m too funny.” He grinned, continuing their conversation as if nothing happened. Up until now, every time Chat grabbed her hand was to help her somehow, whether it was to guide her from the darkness or to yank her away from trouble. Right now, he grabbed her hand without a reason, just because he felt like it. Marinette’s heart sped up, skipping beats and making her feel flustered. The butterflies in her stomach didn’t really help either. She gawked dotingly at him, feeling comfort and happiness, squeezing his hand slightly refusing to let go.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Marinette whispered when they finally reached her favorite spot in Paris. “It gives me inspiration every time I come here.” It was getting dark and cold, but neither of them seemed to mind. Marinette felt warm being with Chat and holding his hand, and the Eiffel Tower’s beautiful lights illuminated the darkness. There weren’t too many people out anymore, a few couples here and there and some other citizens walking around but it was mostly workers going home after a long day at their job. Since it was dark, Chat decided to take off the sunglasses, deciding not many people would notice his mask and if they did they probably wouldn’t think much of it.

“Not as beautiful as you.” While Marinette was gazing at the Eiffel Tower, Chat was gazing at her. Slowly, she shifted her eyes and turned her head to look at him, surprised when she saw him looking back. He let go of her hand and faced her, placing his hands on her red face and bringing it closer to his own. He hesitated inches away from her not completely sure that this is what she wanted, but when she didn’t back away he felt confident.

It all happened so fast…one minute they were good friends fighting crime and bringing peace to Paris, and the next they were kissing tenderly under the beautiful Parisian night sky.


	16. Chapter 16

Slowly, Chat backed off, looking into her eyes. There was a moment of silence between them; they didn’t know what to say. Both of their hearts thumped furiously inside their chests, their faces were red and their eyes wide. 

Marinette was the one who broke the silence first. “I- have something for you.” She whispered softly, deciding now was the perfect time to mention her gift. Chat stared at her, not quite sure what she meant. He reluctantly released her, letting her search through her empty bag. “H-here.” She quickly took out a blue present box with a pink ribbon tied around it, something Chat strangely recognized, and handed it to him. Chat took it, still surprised she actually got something for him.

“Thanks.” He smiled. He carefully began opening her gift, making sure not to rip the ribbons and to try and preserve the wrapping paper. He wasn’t quite sure why he did that, surely he was going to throw away the wrapping paper once he finished opening the present, but it seemed against his nature to rip open the present. Finally, he managed to remove the unharmed wrapping and open the box. When he saw what was inside he wasn’t sure what to say.

“I remembered you said you were cold yesterday so I made this for you.” Marinette smiled softly, remembering the precious hours of sleep she sacrificed to get this done. She should feel tired by now, exhausted really, but being with Chat somehow energized her. “I tried to make it so that it would go with what you usually wear.” Chat looked at the well-made black scarf and the matching black winter hat with cat ears carefully sewed on it.

“Was this what you were doing all night?” Chat asked slowly, wishing he could feel the fabric through his jet-black leather gloves. Marinette nodded, wondering if he liked it. He looked at her in awe, flustered that she dedicated so much time for him. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. Never has anyone done something so kind and thoughtful for him. When he mentioned being cold it was just a passing thought, he didn’t really mean much from it, but Marinette went through the trouble of actually making something for him just because he said that.

“Is it too small?” Marinette worried, wondering why he wasn’t saying anything. “If you don’t like it, it’s fine! Really!” She was a bit disappointed with his silence, but she put on a smile anyways.

He stared at her in pure disbelief. ‘How can she think that I don’t like this?’ He immediately pulled her in for a hug, forgetting about the entire world and thinking only about her. “You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met Marinette. Thank you so much.” His throat was tight, feeling emotional. “I love it.”

Marinette smiled endearingly at him, hugging him back with her one good arm. They stayed like that for a long time, long enough for Chat to regain his composure. Eventually the two sat down on one of the benches and kept talking. Chat immediately put on his gift, loving how it looked on him. Eventually the hours passed, and it was time for both of them to go back home. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but they knew that eventually they’d have to part. “It’s getting late Chat.” Marinette whispered woefully. “I better go home soon.”

“I’ll take you there Princess.” Chat stood up, offering Marinette his hand. Normally, she’d roll her eyes, push him away and stand up on her own; but today she took it and smiled. Chat could easily have picked her up, used his staph to lift them and brought her home in a matter of seconds, but he didn’t and Marinette was glad. They enjoyed their walk home together, it was silent at some points and filled with talk at others but either way they were happy.

Chat, for the first time in a long time, felt the warmth and comfort of being cared by someone; and when it was finally time to say goodbye, when they were finally by the front of the store, he wasn’t ready to part. “So,” he started with a small, heartfelt smile on his face, “can I stay over for a few minutes before going home?” He felt bad for asking to stay over after basically living in her house for the past few days, but he really liked being there.

Marinette knew she couldn’t just bring him in, her parents would be quick to realize he was Chat Noir and start asking questions…but she didn’t have the heart to say no. “Alright Tomcat, meet you in my room?” She compromised, knowing she probably wouldn’t have much sleep that night either. ‘Might as well keep Chat some company right?’

“Alright, see you then Bugaboo.” He winked, bowing extravagantly before opening the door of the shop for her, ignoring the people in the shop looking at him through the windows. She smiled, entering the store. He looked longingly at her for a moment, before going towards a less populated area and making his way towards Marinette’s balcony -glad to see she didn’t lock the window- and entering her room.

“Hey Dad, Maman!” Marinette smiled, hugging her parents. “How’s the shop?” She asked, stealing a bagel lying around innocently.

“Can’t complain.” Tom grinned, glad to see his daughter again. “And just where have you been all day missy?” He followed his daughter’s example and took a bagel for himself, making Marinette chuckle lightly. 

“You two know those are for costumers right?” Sabine looked at them, knowing the two of them wouldn’t hesitate to take more. “Although I guess it’s fine since we’re closing soon.” She added, giving herself an excuse to join them in the theft. The trio laughed together, like they always do. Marinette felt lucky to have such a close family, knowing she wouldn’t trade this for anything.

“Well Dad, I was out with a friend.” She smiled, taking one more bagel, thinking of Chat.

“Does that friend happen to be Adrien Agreste?” Sabine asked as she started cleaning up the shop to close it. Usually Tom would be in the kitchen making pastries, but the day was almost done with and he wanted to wait for his daughter to come home. He helped Sabine with closing down the shop, saying goodbye to the few costumers that were left.

“W-what?? No way! Maman it’s nothing like that.” Marinette sighed, eager to get out of the interrogation she knew was going to happen soon. “Anyways, I’m kind of tired so I’ll be going to bed now.” She kissed them goodnight and made her way upstairs and to her room, far away from her parents and their inquiring questions.

“Ten euros says it was Agreste.” Sabine placed a bet with her husband once she noticed her daughter was no longer in range.

Once finally reaching her room, she quickly let Tikki out. Tikki smiled softly at her, stretching her small body after spending hours in that bag. “Hey there.” Marinette smiled towards Chat, offering him the bagel. “How are you feeling Tikki?” 

“Just fine!” Tikki smiled before hiding somewhere in Marinette’s room, wanting them to spend as much time together as possible.

“Tikki?” Marinette raised a brow, no longer seeing her tiny companion. Chat grinned, taking the bagel and silently thanking Tikki for being such an awesome friend.

“Thanks Princess.” He took a bite. “I have to say, today was really fun.” 

“Yeah.” Marinette agreed, glad the feeling was mutual. She sat down on her desk chair, feeling a bit tired after their daylong walk through Paris. “We should do this again sometime.” She smiled softly.

“Are you free tomorrow?” Chat asked with a smirk on his face. “Because for you My Lady, I’m always free.” He winked, taking another hungry bite from the bagel. Marinette was about to say yes, but she quickly remembered her shoulder and Master Fu.

“No, not tomorrow.” She looked at her shoulder. “I have to be somewhere.” Chat immediately thought of that boy she was visiting the previous day. Despite spending an entire day with her, he still felt jealous of him. ‘How much could he possibly mean to Marinette for her to visit him again?’ He thought angrily.

“Oh, why’s that?” He tried not to sound as bitter as he felt.

“Well, this is probably going to sound strange,“ she decided not to hide anything from Chat, “but there’s a person Tikki knows who can heal all kinds of wounds. He said that tomorrow he’d finish healing my shoulder.” She said with a smile. “He’s a really nice old man, I’ve met him before when Tikki was sick and again yesterday after I went to school.” Chat blinked, not really expecting this answer from her. He knew she wasn’t lying since she didn’t hesitate or think about how to answer his question, but he still found it hard to believe he was jealous of an old man.

“And is that where you were after our fight?” He asked, just to be 100% positive. She nodded honestly. Chat stared at her for the longest time before bursting out laughing, feeling a weight in his chest disappear.

“What’s so funny?” Marinette expected any reaction but this. Chat managed to calm down, looking at her with a peacefully childish expression and a goofy smile radiating on his face.

“It’s nothing, really.” He said happily, a bit embarrassed to admit to her that he was actually jealous. Marinette frowned at him, curiously trying to decipher his silly expression. “Anyways, if I remember correctly, that means I get to tell you who I am tomorrow.” 

“Chat, I still think it’s a bad idea.” Marinette sighed, wanting more than anything to find out who it was she had fallen for but knowing it could prove to be a dangerous move. “What if I mess up again? I can’t guarantee I won’t accidentally say your real name while you’re Chat.”

“Marinette, I told you it’s my secret to tell. I agreed to wait until you could fight again, and I’ve respected that agreement. I know you, and I know you’re trustworthy. So tomorrow you’ll find out who exactly is in this mask.” He smiled chipper. “I can’t wait.” Marinette frowned, knowing that once his mind was made up there was little she could do to change it. “And stop saying you messed up, you really didn’t.”

Marinette’s lips curled softly into a shy smile. She was glad to have such a supportive partner like Chat Noir by her side. “Alright Kitty, if you say so.” She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. 

“You should go to bed.” He realized the only thing keeping her up was him. She was already sleep deprived from the previous night and walking around Paris the entire day didn’t really do much to help her, she must’ve been exhausted. “I’ll go.” He mumbled, reluctantly walking towards the window.

“No, I don’t really feel like sleeping right now.” Marinette shrugged, looking at the clock on her computer –it was getting really late. “You should stay, if you want.” She glanced at Chat.

“You don’t feel like sleeping?” He questioned, remembering the reason why Marinette didn’t go to sleep the previous night as well. “Still thinking about ukuleles My Lady?” He raised a brow.

“You could say that.” She giggled, blushing a bit at the embarrassing memory. She glanced around her room, noticing the messy state she left it in. ‘I’m going to have to clean this up later.’ She thought feeling quite impressed at how she managed to make it so messy.

“Would it help if…” Chat blushed softly, taking a deep confident breath. “…if I stayed a bit longer with you, just until you fall asleep?”

Marinette’s face turned a deep shade of red. “I-I d-don’t want to bother you with s-something so silly… n-not that I wouldn’t mind spending the night with you. I MEAN who wouldn’t, y-you’re Chat Noir! I bet all the ladies want to spend time with you! Not to say that you actually spend time with them, you’re not a flirt after all. B-but you-“ Marinette continued to spout a montage of briskly stuttered words, only making her situation worse with each word that came out of her mouth. Chat looked at her adoringly, remembering how shy she could get in situations like these.

“Is that a yes?” As much as he found her stuttering mess of words endearing, he decided to stop her before she started to talk so fast she forgets to breathe. Marinette nodded timidly, bashfully covering her flustered face. “Alright.” He walked over to her and offered a hand.

“Th-thank you.” She took his hand, standing up and letting him lead her to the bed. She quickly removed her sling, releasing her sore arm freely. The sling helped a lot but sometimes it felt good not to wear it. She tiredly kicked off her shoes, not even bothering to place them where they belonged, released her hair from its bun and just fell on the bed, making enough space for Chat to join her. Slowly, he laid down with her, brushing a hand against her hair. 

“Goodnight Marinette.” He whispered contently, staring into her beautiful bluebell eyes. Marinette smiled shyly at him, tiredly looking into his bright green eyes. Marinette thought it was amazing how he could always give her comfort, to the point where she couldn’t think about her experience in the shadows every time she closed her eyes. She opened her mouth to bid him goodnight, still recovering from being so flustered.

“Ginoot.” She said without thinking. Chat widened his eyes and stared rather confused at her, meanwhile she shut her eyes trying desperately not to think about how badly she butchered the words ‘good’ and ‘night’. Chat chuckled softly, remembering she had done something similar while with Adrien. He gently kissed her forehead before letting her fall asleep.

“Sleep well my beautiful Princess.” He whispered softly as Marinette fell into a deep, soundless sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! sorry i've been pretty inactive... ap hell week, I'm sure some of you know that struggle...  
> Anywho, I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer as a small apology for the delay. 
> 
> Thanks for all of the support you've given me!!! It's always super awesome receiving that little email saying "new comment on..." and reading all of you lovely comments. So thanks again! Have a wonderful day and a lovely weekend (plus a friday)! I'll try to update again asap!

“Good-morning Plagg!!” Adrien chanted, smiling as he got up from his king sized fluff of a bed. A less fortunate individual would have been unable to leave the comfort of his bed, but he was used to it. 

"You seem energetic.” Plagg yawned tiredly, wondering how Adrien could be so awake at such an early hour. 

“Do I?” He mused, walking to his enormous wardrobe. He was going to wear his usual tee and jeans, but his eyes glossed over the red hoodie Marinette had given him. He slowly turned his head away, deciding to wear it sometime soon- after she found out who Chat Noir was. He smiled excitedly. ‘She finds out today.’ He closed his eyes imagining her surprised reaction. Her mouth would be slightly open agape, her eyes would be wide open and focused only on him and her satisfied smile would warm his heart beyond belief. She would stutter slightly but confidently talk to him…and that’s when he would ask her. 

For now, he put his new black scarf and hat in his backpack and gave Plagg a slice of cheese. “Thanks again Plagg.” He gleamed. “Yesterday was amazing.” He closed his eyes happily, remembering his date, blushing slightly at the memory of their kiss.

“Are you going to do her hair again?” Plagg reminded him, gladly taking the cheese and taking a bite off of it. 

“Oh yeah! Would you mind if we went now?” He remembered her sleeping on her desk, she looked so peaceful. He wondered if he left early he could see her sleeping like that again. 

“Now’s as good a time as any.” Plagg shrugged, earning a thankful smile from Adrien.

Marinette woke up to her alarm for what seemed like the first time in years. For once she wasn’t late, desperately rushing as an attempt to somehow make it to school in time. She actually had time to collect herself and wake up, instead of rushing through her morning routine. 

“Good morning Marinette!” Tikki grinned, energetically flying around Marinette. “You’re up earlier than usual.” She noted. 

“Good morning Tikki.” Marinette stood up and stretched, yawning gently as she walked over to her closet. She picked out a fresh set of clothes, looking at the empty hook where her red hoodie once hanged neglected. She smiled remembering how Chat looked happy when she had given it to him. 

“So…” Tikki looked at Marinette like she was expecting something. When she looked dumbfounded, Tikki sighed. “Tell me about your date! I couldn’t hear or see anything in that bag, so you’ll have to tell me everything!” She put emphasis on the word ‘everything’.

“O-oh!” She blushed madly as she changed. “Well, we just ended up walking together and talking.” Marinette had a lot of time before she had to get to school since she’s so used to quickly getting ready. As she put on her sling, she decided she might as well tidy her room a bit. “He also bought me a crepe.” She smiled softly as she picked up a piece of fabric from the floor and started folding it. 

“That's so sweet of him!” Tikki cheered. “What else happened?” She asked, as Marinette cleaned. 

“Well... We- um…we kissed.” She whispered, closing her eyes as the memory warmed her heart and reddened her pale skin. 

“Marinette…you’re crumpling the fabric.” Tikki snickered, causing Marinette to instantly drop the fabric in a frantic moment after realizing she was holding the fabric tightly against her chest. “But I’m so happy for you!” They both giggled lightly. 

“Thanks Tikki.” She picked up the fabric again, smoothing out the new wrinkles and folding it neatly before placing it on her desk. “You know… Today he’s going to tell me who he is.” Marinette sighed.

“Really? That’s great Marinette.” Tikki then noticed her slight frown. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to know who is behind the mask?” She flew closer to Marinette. 

“Yes, I really want to know who he is! I’ve always wanted to know…just like I’ve always wanted to tell.” She bit her lower lip, a gesture she does sometimes when she's worried. “But I still think it’s dangerous for us to know who we are. What if something happens and I slip up? And what’s worse is what if he’s someone I know andI do something really embarrassing when I see him?” Marinette shivered at the thought. 

"Marinette don’t you think you’re overthinking things? I’m sure whoever he is it’ll be a delightful surprise!” Tikki thought for a moment. “And look in the bright side, he can help you with excuses to get out of some situations where you need to be Ladybug. You’ll also be able to go on dates without disguises!” Marinette laughed.

“I guess you're right Tikki.” She was beyond glad to have Tikki around to always console her. Marinette was almost done cleaning when she heard a welcomed knock on her window. She basically ran to the window, tripping on the way. She stopped in front of the window, taking a deep breath and collecting herself before opening it. “Hey Tomcat.” She smiled, welcoming him inside. 

"Good morning Bugaboo.” He was slightly disappointed that Marinette was awake, but nonetheless glad to see her. He went into her room, surprised that the mess he saw late last night was practically gone. He figured she must’ve woken up early just to clean…or maybe she had nothing better to do. “How’d you sleep?” He smiled fondly, going towards her table where she kept her brush and ties. Today he decided on a single loose braid.

“I slept w-well, thanks.” Marinette stuttered slightly, remembering last night’s events. “Did you get home late?” She felt slightly guilty for having him stay with her for so long even though he probably had better things to do. 

“Not at all. Don’t worry about it.” He smiled as he started to work with Marinette's hair. “It’s not like my dad would even notice my absence.” He muttered mostly to himself, frowning slightly at the memory of his broken home. Marinette barely heard him, but even if she didn’t the tone of his voice was grim enough for her to know something was wrong. 

Marinette realize she didn’t really know much about Chat. She knew his attitude and his personality quite well; she knew he was kindhearted but also cool headed; she knew he could be insufferably insistent; and she knew she loved all of his qualities and quirks. But she didn't know much about his life… She knew she shouldn’t know much since she didn't know who he was, but it hurt to not know anything about her partner and it hurt not being able to understand his problems.

“Chat…” She realized she didn't even know how to console him. “I’m sure that's not true.” She didn’t really know what to say to him, and she hated that. 

“Yeah right.” He sighed. “I really wish it wasn’t.” His voice was calm and cool, but there was a hint of sadness in it. “There, done. Looking good Princess.” Chat clasping his hands together, smiling at his handiwork. Marinette slowly turned around…seeing him smile like that just felt wrong. ‘Does he always put on a smile even when he's sad?’ She thought to herself. Chat noticed the slight frown on her gentle face. “Marinette, is something wrong?” He asked. 

Marinette then tightly hugged him, holding his as close as possible with her one good arm, and surprising him. “Silly cat.” She whispered softly. “If you don’t feel like you're a part of your family, then you can be a part of mine.” Chat Noir was surprised, he knew she was compassionate but he didn’t expect this type of response to his little comment.

Slowly he placed one hand around her slim waist and another at the nape of her neck, drawing her closer to him. “That would be nice.” He whispered. “So does that mean I get to marry you?” He joked lightly, teasing Marinette a bit. He wanted to thank her and tell her how much her words meant to him, but he didn’t know how to do that without becoming too emotional. So instead he chose to follow the same joking routine he always did and make a joke.

“Wh-what??” Marinette turned a new shade of red, loosening her grip on Chat. “N-no! I mean it’s not that I don’t want to marry you- WAIT I didn’t mean to say that I do- I…” Marinette decided to just stop talking, knowing her big mouth would only manage to worsen the situation for her. Chat chuckled, wondering how he never realized how adorable Marinette could be. 

“Marinette!” Sabine called to her daughter. “Did you wake up yet? You’re going to be late!” For once, Marinette was glad to hear that warning. She was thankful for her mother basically gift wrapping a free ticket out of awkward-land for her. 

"Hah, I should go.” Chat ruffled Marinette's hair lightly, releasing her from his embrace. “I can’t wait to show you later today.” He grinned. “See you meowround!” He winked, leaving suddenly through the window with his heart beating rapidly and his mind replaying what just happened. 

Marinette was left staring at the open window, feeling the cool breeze flow inside her room. She shivered slightly, deciding on wearing a thicker jacket today. “That’s the second time he’s left like this.” She whispered to herself, slipping on her shoes and putting on a jacket. She didn’t really feel like removing her sling so the left sleeve was impossible to put on, she decided to simply tug the jacket over her arm like a blanket instead. 

“You’re starting to act like when you’re with Adrien.” Tikki giggled, flying inside Marinette's open purse. “I’m glad you’re happy though, you deserve it!” She smiled fondly at the clumsy, adorable girl looking at her. “But if you don’t hurry up you’re going to be late…again!” Marinette nodded with a small, innocent smile on her face. She grabbed her schoolbag and started rushing downstairs, once more breezing through her usual morning routine. 

Adrien barely made it in time, he stayed longer than he should have in Marinette's house…but he didn’t care. “A part of her family.” He mused, leaning on his desk. He was surprised when he entered the classroom, noticing Marinette hasn’t arrived yet. He thought it was funny how she always showed up late even though she lives right around the corner. 

“Did you say something dude?” Nino asked as he sat down beside Adrien.

“Not at all.” He woke up from his love struck daze. He easily struck a conversation with Nino, assuring him that he’d attend his party and reminding him of the new movie coming out. Time slowly passed as they talked, but every so often Adrien would eye the door excited when he saw someone entering and disappointed when it wasn’t Marinette. 

He held his breath when she finally entered, swiftly passing through him like a bluebell streak. The gentle smile tugging at her lips enchanted him, and the flushed red in her cheeks –a clear after effect of running the to school- only augmented her beauty. His eyes were reluctant to look away, they refused to see anything but Marinette. When she turned her head gently, their eyes met. She stood there, if only for a second, looking into his eyes and remembering the reason she had liked him for so long as she saw the kindness they held. 

She turned away and quietly sat in her seat, ignoring any lingering feelings she still had for Adrien. She didn’t care much for him anymore, not since her heart opened for Chat. Adrien returned his attention to Nino who didn’t notice the small exchange between the two. There was a goofy smile creeping on his face, he was excited. Soon, she’d look at him like she did at Chat. 

“Marinette, girl, you have some explaining to do.” Alya said swiping her fingers on her phone, scrolling through the many pictures she had in her phone. Marinette panicked, whenever Alya had that inquiring tone in her voice it meant she found something of interest…usually something about Ladybug. 

“Wh-what is it?” She stuttered nervously, trying to think of any occasion where she might have revealed herself as Ladybug. 

Alya slowly looked up at Marinette with a whimsical smirk, sending a cold chill through Marinette. “Explain.” She said, flipping her phone towards Marinette and revealing a picture of her holding a blonde boy’s hand. “I was walking over to Nino’s when I came across you two. Who is he??” Alya smiled energetically, hoping the blonde hair belonged to Adrien. Marinette felt relief flush through her, but then a new wave of anxiety came crushing down on her. She couldn’t tell Alya it was Chat Noir, that would be way too suspicious, and she didn’t know who his real life identity was. She thanked her lucky stars the disguise Chat was wearing looked convincing. “And why is he wearing your old hoodie.” Marinette had forgotten that she proudly showed Alya her first hoodie. 

“Well, he…um… He was cold.” She whispered softly, avoiding her first question. 

“How long have you been dating? And you never told me his name.” Alya continued her inquiry. Marinette’s eyes widened, she felt panic. How was she going to explain this boy to her best friend when even she herself didn’t know who he was? Adrien had been eavesdropping slightly, sharing the slight panic Marinette felt. He knew she couldn’t answer Alya, but he couldn’t exactly step in and claim to be the boy in the picture… Marinette didn’t know it was him. 

“Settle down class! It’s time for our lesson.” Both Marinette and Adrien sighed in relief as the chattering room fell silent. 

“Tell me during lunch.” Alya whispered as she took out her notebook from her bag. Marinette started thinking of excuses to give her, but nothing came to mind. 

Time passed by far too quickly as the teacher gave her lesson and handed out assignments. Marinette had to avoid any and all inquisitive stared coming from Alya. Her mind refused to concentrate on anything but the impending doom looming over her. Soon, much to her dismay, it was time for lunch. She procrastinated by taking more time to grab her snacks; she “accidentally” tripped three times on the way to their usual seat on the stairs. Finally, when there was nothing more Marinette could do to avoid the conversation, Alya began to remind her. 

“So…?” She waited patiently for her best friend to reveal the big secret. Her eyes were purely focused on Marinette, ignoring the blonde boy and his brunette friend that walked their way. 

“Hey there.” Adrien smiled confidently, deciding he was going to save Marinette somehow. Both of the girls looked at him, a bit surprised. “Do you mind if I kidnapped Marinette for a bit?” Alya eyed him, wondering why he was asking for Marinette. She smiled.

“Sure, go ahead.” Alya motioned for her best friend to go. Marinette blinked, unsure about what just happened…but it was a great excuse to leave Alya and not talk about Chat Noir. Marinette stood up, her seat now taken by Nino who was just as confused as she was. She followed Adrien towards the other side of the gym.

When they finally reached their destination, Adrian glanced at Marinette. He wished he could hold her like he does as Chat, but he had to be patient… just a little longer. “Hey.” He smiled at her, noticing she looked a little bit tense but that was how she always acted around him.

“Uhhh… HI!” She blurted nervously.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re alright, yesterday you seemed a bit bothered after I asked if you were free.” Adrien had to think the entire class to think of an excuse for dragging her away from Alya. He wanted to help her somehow, and this was the best he could do. 

“Me?” She asked bewildered. “Well I- I’m fine! Peach perfect! Just dandy!” Marinette had no idea what she was spouting anymore, she mentally cursed herself and chuckled nervously with an awkward expression on her face.

“That’s… good to hear.” He smiled fondly, sitting down in one of the benches. Marinette sat with him. “So, how was yesterday?” He tried to prolong the conversation, knowing she might want the excuse to stay away from the inquisitive Alya.

“Oh! Well it was… nice.” Marinette blushed softly, thankful that Adrien wasn’t as nosy as Alya. “My… friend and I ended up having a good time.” She smiled, opening a small bag of cookies and putting it inside her purse. Had Adrien not known Marinette’s kwami stayed inside her bag, he probably would’ve wondered why she was sneakily stuffing cookies in her purse.

“That’s good to hear!” He didn’t like the way she called him her friend, but they hadn’t exactly labeled their relationship yet. Before they were partners and friends, Adrien would even venture to say they were best friends. He was bothered by it, but he just had to be a bit more patient because soon that would change too. “And your arm?” He looked at the general direction of her left arm, noticing it was covered loosely with her jacket.

“It’s better! It’s practically new.” Adrien knew she wasn’t the type to complain about her injuries, but he knew this time it wasn’t a lie. Her arm was getting fixed today, and he couldn’t wait until then. 

The two of them kept making small talk and Marinette started loosening up a bit as their conversation dragged on. Adrien was glad to see her being more comfortable around him but he noticed she wasn’t as giddy as she was with Chat. He was going to change that soon. The more he thought about how he’d reveal himself, the more excited he got. They kept on talking, and he kept trying to drop little hints. “Do you like cats?” He asked.

“They’re pretty cute.” Marinette smiled. “Except when one of them scratches me with their sharp claws.” Adrien raised a brow, forgetting they were talking about real cats and not super hero boys dressed up as cats.

“Right, that’s never fun.” He chuckled, thinking of another subtle hint he could give her. He decided he couldn’t wait any longer; he was going to tell her right then and there. “Marinette, I’m-“

“What’s going on here?” Chloe interrupted their conversation. She noticed Adrien had started to favor Marinette, and she wouldn’t have it. “Adrikins, are you abandoning moi?” She victimized herself, placing a hand against her chest.

“Of course not Chloe.” Adrien sighed, really wishing she’d be nice for once. “I’m just having a conversation with Marinette.” He smiled gently, trying to appease her.

“Why don’t you talk to me instead?” She sat in between Adrien and the girl of his dreams, wrapping her arms around one of Adrien’s. He flinched slightly, not entirely sure on how to handle her. Marinette had noticed Chloe refused to look her in the eyes, she wasn’t sure if it was out of guilt for what happened last time or hatred. 

“Chloe, don’t you have any manners?” Marinette asked irritated, she wasn’t really trying to date Adrien anymore but it still bothered her to know that Chloe would go out of her way for something so petty as to interrupt a conversation.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are you calling me uncivilized?” Again she acted like a victim. “That’s so rude of you! Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?” Marinette rolled her eyes, already expecting a lame comeback from the school’s number one diva.

“There’s no need to argue!” Adrien tried to stop them before the argument became heated. “We can all just talk.” He smiled softly. Marinette gritted her teeth and stood up, she hated being around Chloe. She hated how stuck up and selfish that girl was.

“I have to go, Alya is waiting.” She grunted, realizing she’d rather try her luck with Alya rather than deal with Chloe, even if it meant abandoning Adrien.

“No wait!” He tried standing up, but Chloe prevented him from moving away from her. Marinette just kept walking away in slight frustration.

Unfortunately, before Adrien could do anything to get fix the mess he was in, lunch had ended and they all had to go back inside their classroom. He waved slightly at Marinette as they sat down, and then let out an inaudible sigh as Chloe finally let go of his arm. He really wished he had handled the situation better.

Class had started, and Alya was staring curiously at Marinette. She started theorizing that Marinette had gone on a secret date with Adrien the previous day. She decided to pester Marinette until she told the truth, like any best friend would. However, she was patient enough to wait for school to end, and for the two of them to be in the front of the school. Nino and Adrien waved at them as they passed by.

Alas, it would be a bit too obvious if Adrien interrupted their conversation again so he decided to trust in Marinette’s wits. He bid Nino goodbye and went into his car, casually eyeing Marinette and Alya as he was driven away. “Can we go to the Trocadero?” He asked Gorilla, who simply nodded. Again Nathalie wasn’t with them, which was perfect. “Thanks.” He grinned, remembering the place he found Marinette a few nights ago after fighting Shadowvoice was close to the Trocadero. He figured he’d just have to find her somehow.

“Okay spill. What was that about?” Marinette was thankful Alya had dropped the mystery blond boy subject for now, but she still hated the idea of being interrogated by her best friend. She loved Alya, but sometimes she felt her best friend was a bit too curious.

“He was just asking if I was okay. My arm is technically broken.” She snickered. “We also talked a bit before Chloe butt in.”

“Chloe!” Alya shouted, thinking she was the key to the mystery. ‘The reason Marinette didn’t want to tell me that she was dating Adrien was because of Chloe!’ She thought. Marinette stared at her in pure confusion. “Don’t let Chloe dictate your life.” She recovered from her moment of excitement. “If you and Adrien are d- together, you shouldn’t let her get in between the two of you. And you should definitely tell your very best friend what you two do together.” She thought she was being clever, but Marinette had absolutely no idea what she was on about.

“Alright…” She raised a brow. “Anyways, I have to go. I have to go to the doctors. Bye Alya” She waved to her best friend and quickly started to run towards Master Fu’s house. 

“Take care Mari!” Alya shouted after her, watching her quickly scurry away from the school.


	18. Chapter 18

Marinette took her sugar sweet time to walk over to Master Fu’s home, feeling nervous about finding out who Chat was. She knew the moment she left his house she would have no more excuses to avoid finding out his identity…but was that a bad thing? She had finally reached Master Fu’s house, hesitantly knocking on the door and nervously shifting her weight from foot to foot. She looked at her sling wrapped arm and a small smile crept into her face, at least she’d be finally free of this pain. She knew she’d still have to wear a sling for a while to prevent suspicion, but she wouldn’t be as helpless and useless anymore. 

“Come in.” Master Fu smiled at her, noticing her slight nervousness. He opened his door wider and motioned for her to come inside. “How have you been?” He asked with his thick accent. 

“Very well, thanks to you.” Marinette beamed, sitting in her usual spot. “Thanks again Sir.” She looked at him with her innocent deer eyes. He sat beside her as she slowly took off her sling, slightly procrastinating. 

“Is something wrong?” Master Fu asked, beginning to heal her damaged shoulder. “You seem slightly nervous today.” He wondered if he had done something to trouble her.

“N-no! Not at all! It’s just…” She thought of coming up with something on the top of her head, but she decided against it. “Imagine if you have a friend who has a similar secret to yours, and after a series of unfortunate events your friend finds out your secret.” She started, being as broad as possible. “You and your friend start getting closer after that but then your friend wants to tell you their secret. You start getting really worried because their secret is really important and if you find out you could accidentally mess up again and share it with someone which would be horrible for your friend. There are some pros of finding out their secret but what if it’s not worth it? What if something bad happens and.. What if I fail him?” She sighed, realizing the poor old man probably didn’t really care about her silly problems.

Master Fu was thankful he practiced patience and had an amazing poker face because it took him an enormous amount of effort to remain calm, collected and not overly enthusiastic about what he just heard. ‘Finally!’ He thought. “Perhaps you should trust your friend’s choice. He wouldn’t tell you his secret if he didn’t trust you completely.” Master Fu reassured her. “You two are a team. You must let him trust you the same way you trust him.” Master Fu then looked at Marinette dead in the eye. “But most importantly, you must trust yourself.”

Marinette nodded, reflecting on his advice as he finished healing her arm. They continued to make small talk, and, although they had left the subject, Marinette couldn’t help but repeat his words to herself. ‘You must trust yourself.’ Those words have often been repeated to Marinette in different occasions, like when she first met Tikki and refused to believe she could be Ladybug. She closed her eyes and began to convince herself that she could take care of his secret. As time passed she realized she was eager to see him again, and to finally find out who he was. 

“Thanks again Master Fu!” Marinette smiled, no longer feeling the lingering pain in her shoulder. She waved her hand, grabbing her sling and her bag on the way out. “And thanks for the advice.” She bowed her head slightly as she bid him goodbye. She decided that one day she should come back with a thank-you-cake or something similar for him. 

“Goodbye young miss.” The old man watched as she left, happy to see her arm no longer in the sling. “Stay safe and be happy.” He whispered in a hushed tone as he closed the door in front of him. 

Adrien had been patiently waiting for Marinette near the place he had picked her up two nights prior. He had to sneak out of his house and skip fencing, but he had given his coach an excuse and told Nathalie he was going to go to a friend’s house after practice and insisted he didn’t need a ride. He figured she would take a while since her shoulder was really damaged, but after an hour –maybe two- of waiting he started to feel nervous. He was afraid she might have taken a different path, or that she got herself into some sort of trouble. In the end he had to have faith and believe that luck was on his side today. To pass the time, he did most if not all of his homework while he waited, deciding to wait for her productively. He looked inside his bag, seeing the scarf and hat Marinette had made for him –for Chat. He picked up the scarf and wrapped it around his neck, happily feeling the warmth the scarf brought with it. Next he put on the hat, gladly messing up his thousand dollar haircut. He continued to wait patiently, ignoring Plagg’s teasing jokes and demands for cheese. 

"What if she doesn’t show up here?” Plagg asked seriously, hoping his worries were for naught. Adrien looked up from his textbook and stared at Plagg for a moment, thinking. His nervousness slowly started creeping back, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself. 

“She will.” He looked up at the beautiful blue sky and and closed his eyes, feeling the cold breeze gently blow against him. “Just have faith.” He whispered mostly to himself, thinking about how Marinette would react. 

Marinette stretched her arm, glad to be able to move it freely without feeling any pain. “It’s a shame I’ll have to put my arm back into the sling, but at least Ladybug can fight freely now.” Marinette said, looking around to make sure there was no one around to hear her. 

“Yeah.” Tikki giggled. “I’m glad you’re better Marinette.”

“Me too.” She curled her lips into a smile and reluctantly put on her sling, afraid of bumping into someone she knew and having to explain herself. 

“Hey, Marinette isn’t that the hat you knit for Chat?” Tikki flew in front of Marinette and pointed to where Adrien and Plagg were sitting. Marinette could only see their backs but she knew that was Chat, she could see the small detail that hid her signature on the back of on the of ears. 

“It is.” She whispered, feeling her heart beat faster. She had two option: she could either walk away and possibly avoid finding out who Chat was or she could walk over there and meet him. She took a staggering step back, knowing that now was her chance to get away and possibly prevent any future disaster from happening. She took a deep breath…

…and walked towards him. She repeated the words Master Fu, Tikki and Chat himself told her, giving herself some courage along the way. She nervously opened her mouth to speak. “Chat?” Her voice trembled slightly. “Were you waiting for me?” She noticed papers scattered around on the bench. 

Adrien’s eyes snapped open and a smile crept on his face. “Yeah.” He stood up and turned to face her, frowning slightly when he saw the sling on her shoulder. “Your arm…” Marinette couldn’t believe Adrien was Chat this whole entire time. Chat was outgoing, flamboyant and expressive while Adrien was reserved, shy and passive. She wondered if maybe Adrien just happened to find Chat’s hat and scarf somewhere and decided to wear it because he liked black cats. “Bugaboo?” Adrien raised a brow. That nickname shattered any of Marinette’s lingering doubts that Adrien wasn’t Chat. 

“It’s- just for show.” Marinette said slowly, processing this revelation. She looked at him up and down. “You’re- You’ve been Chat all along?” Adrien nodded smiling, watching her every move and making sure he’d notice any changes in her expressions. Marinette had no idea how to feel, and it didn’t help that many thoughts crossed her mind. Her face turned a bright red when she realized she technically had kissed Adrien; she smiled when she remembered the many times Chat had helped her, knowing it was Adrien all along, she bit her lip when she remembered all of the embarrassing things she did in front of Adrien because of her crush; and she frowned slightly when she realized that Adrien had only really started noticing and talking to Marinette when Chat found out Ladybug’s secret identity. 

"It's crazy right? All this time Ladybug sat right behind me and Chat Noir sat right in front of you.” He chuckled, placing a hand on her right shoulder –still weary of her other, no longer injured left shoulder. “Your shoulder is better, right?” Marinette nodded, deciding not to jump into conclusions. She took deep, long breaths to calm her beating heart.

“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” She forced a smile, ignoring the doubting voice that snickered in the back of her mind. “See?” She moved her arm out of the sling and waved at him, proving her point.

"That's good.” He started to pack up, shoving all of his homework in his bag. “Are you going home?” He asked, sliding on his bad on his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Marinette nodded. “I’ve been avoiding the physics homework like the plague so I figured I should just do it.” She sighed thinking of the doom that awaited her when she got home. “Physics is not my strongest subject.” She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, trying hard not to let her doubts bring her down. ‘He’s not like that.’ She thought, hoping to eradicate any doubt.

“If you need any help… I’m actually pretty good with physics.” Adrien smiled. “Well, shall we?” He lifted his arm, offering his elbow in a chivalric manner. Marinette chuckled, hooking her arm to his. She certainly never expected Adrien to act like Chat, but now that she knew they were the same person it only seemed natural for him to behave like that.

“Sure.” Her heart was beating faster and she finally started to forget any doubt that plagued her. “How’s your knowledge on kinematics?”

They kept on talking the entire way back and when they weren’t talking they were enjoying a comfortable silence. Adrien was ecstatic; he could finally be with the girl of his dreams without a silly costume and without having to sneak around. He looked at her as she spoke, completely enthralled with her, her soothing voice and cherry red lips; her eyes mesmerized him and her warmth gave him comfort; her witty remarks and light humor only augmented her astounding character. Overall, being with her created a pleasant atmosphere. For the first time in a long while, Adrien felt like he finally had someone that would be with him…he finally had someone he loved who wouldn’t ignore him.

“…To get to the other side!” Her joke might have been poor but the laughter that followed was rich. “Sorry, papa loves making horrible jokes… After a while they start getting funny.” Marinette chuckled, leaning her head on Adrien’s shoulder. She couldn’t believe what she was doing. For the longest time she had a crush on this boy, constantly getting in embarrassing situations with her antics but still doing her best to get him to like her. Before it was amazing if she could say a single word without stuttering, but now here she was holding him closely and repeating her father’s terrible humor.

“Your family seems so nice.” Adrien mentioned, his heart skip a beat after feeling the small weight of Marinette’s head on his shoulder. “It’s a pity I didn’t really get to talk to them when I came over for that gaming tournament.”

“Oh yeah! They kept butting in while we were trying to practice.” Marinette giggled, slightly embarrassed at the memory. “Sorry about that.” She mumbled.

“It’s okay! Really I don’t mind. They’re kind of the exact opposite of my dad…he never really notices me.” He sighed, noticing Marinette lifted her head to look at him with a sympathetic frown. “It’s okay!” He quickly said. “Really.” He didn’t really feel like talking about his father and Marinette respected that.

“How long were you waiting for me?” She changed the subject. “Not too long I hope.” Adrien smiled, thankful for the gesture.

“Barely a few minutes.” He knew Marinette would probably feel bad if she knew how long he actually waited. Even though Adrien was convincing, Marinette knew better. How would he know what time she would come out? He had to be waiting for more than just a few minutes. 

“You waited for hours didn’t you?” She sighed. “You didn’t have to wait for me.” She looked at him. 

“For you Princess, I’d wait forever.” He grinned, slightly amused by how quickly Marinette’s face grew red. 

The two continued to walk like this, talking to each other about anything really. Marinette had finally let the fact that Adrien was Chat Noir fully sink in, and she actually didn’t mind the two of them being the same person and Adrien felt the same about her. 

“You know, I’m glad you’re Ladybug.” Marinette blinked, not quite understanding what he meant. She examined him, feeling her fear creeping back slowly. “For the longest time I’ve always wanted to know who was under that mask.” He added. Marinette stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him, feeling a pain in her chest. “Marinette?” He raised a brow, turning his head to face her and standing still. 

“Just tell me one thing Adrien…” She started. “Who exactly is it that you like? Marinette or Ladybug?” She realized that she had to know… It might drive her crazy if she didn’t. 

“What do you mean?” He asked, trying to understand where her troubles came from. She let go of him and crossed her arms for comfort. 

“Well, a long time ago there was this boy who offered to me his umbrella on a rainy day even though I was really mad at him and refused to talk to him. He was so kind and sweet… And since then I’ve been trying to get his attention, but nothing I did seemed to work. Suddenly, my partner finds out my secret identity and coincidently this boy who never really noticed me before started talking to me. Adrien, is it Ladybug whom you want to be with? If it is then I’m not her.” Marinette sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. “The masked girl is someone else, not me. Ladybug is someone brave, kind to a fault, strong and witty. I’m just the average teenage girl.” She explained, wondering if she truly wanted to know the answer to that question or not. 

“Marinette… I never meant to ignore you.” Adrien didn’t know she felt that way, had he known she wanted his attention he would have gladly given it to her. “I always thought you were still mad at me. You always looked uncomfortable and bothered when I was around so I thought you didn’t want to be close friends.” Marinette found that a bit hard to believe, did she really seem so uncomfortable every time she wanted to speak to him? “I always thought you were a great person, always helping others, defending those who weren’t strong enough to defend themselves and always trying to solve other peoples problems with a good solution. I’ll admit that I fell in love with Ladybug after seeing all of the amazing things she could do… But with or without the mask, you are you Marinette. I’ll admit that even I change a bit when I’m a superhero, I’m a lot more confident and outgoing, but I’m still me.” He put his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her blue deer eyes. “When I finally managed to spend time with Marinette, I only fell more in love with the same person. You may not have the same attitude as Ladybug, but you are everything that makes Ladybug who she is. I’ve never known anyone who paid so much attention to a little detail, like her partner being cold in one occasion, and spent an entire night working to solve it. I’ve never met someone who chooses to fight while really injured and even blind just so that I wouldn’t be alone. I’ve never met someone who cares for me and listens to every little thing that I have to say, even if it’s something stupid or boring. I’ve never met someone who respect me and encourages me to be the best I can. And I’ve never met someone whom I love the way I do you.” 

When he finished, he realized that Marinette was crying. Actual tears were falling from her eyes as she sniffled softly. “Marinette I didn’t-“ he started to say, feeling horrible for making her cry like this, but before he could finish his sentence, Marinette wrapped her arms around him. She held him tightly, leaning her head against his chest. 

“You silly Tomcat.” She mumbled. “I love you too.” Before she was questioning how Adrien and Chat were the same person, now she questioned how they couldn’t be. Both of them were beyond kind, they were very supportive and really caring, and they were both special to her. 

Suddenly, Adrien pulled Marinette away from him. He stared at her and smiled, deciding that this was as good a time as any to ask her. “Marinette, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?” He looked at her earnestly, wanting nothing more than to be with her. 

Marinette blinked, taking a moment to process the question. She looked up at him with a giddy smile across her face, and with her sweet voice she answered him. “I’d be more than happy to.” Adrien couldn’t contain his excitement, he wrapped his arms around her and placed his lips on hers. 

'This is definitely the best day of my life.’ Marinette couldn’t help but think that. For once, she felt truly lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this took forever to cone out but it's here! There's only one more chapter left and then I'll be done with this adventure!  
> I'd like to take a moment to thank each and every single one of you for all of the support you've given me. It's been a fun time writing this fanfic and i have to say Im going to miss it.   
> But, I'm not done yet. I've decided to write a new fanfic for miraculous Ladybug after I finish this one and I'd like for you guys to decide on the topic!  
> Here are the choices:  
> -marinette loses her memory  
> -mari figures out chats identity first  
> -team miraculous forms  
> -post apocalyptic scenario   
> :)  
> Thanks again to all of you and may you have a wonderful night!


	19. Chapter 19

“Are you sure you don’t want a cookie?” Sabine asked the young blonde boy that was helping her place the fresh pastries on the counters. 

“No Ma’am, I’ve already eaten so much.” He chuckled, brushing his golden hair back. 

“There’s no need to call me Ma’am, I’d much rather you call me mom.” Sabine grinned glad her daughter was busy getting dressed, allowing her to say these things to her boyfriend. “You’re part of the family now.” She added, walking towards the cash register when she noticed a costumer getting in. Adrien blushed, amazed at how accepting of him they were…completely different from his father. 

“Fresh out of the oven.” Tom said bringing in a tray of pastries. Adrien took the tray and began setting it up on the counter, between the cinnamon bun tray and the macaroon dish. “Is she still getting dressed?” He raised a brow, staring at his wife who simply shrugged. 

“Maybe you should check on her Adrien. She might be having a wardrobe crisis like the one back in fifth grade.” Marinette’s mom snickered. 

“Sure, but what one in fifth grade?” Adrien smirked curiously, interested in this bit of Marinette’s history. He ventured to guess some of her clothes got ripped or ruined, or maybe she lost her favorite dress.

“We had to attend Alex’s birthday party, and it was a more formal party. Marinette couldn’t decide between her bright blue Cinderella costume dress and her red polkadot swimsuit so she ended up crying for five minutes before deciding to sew them both together.” Sabine laughed fondly at the memory of her daughter. 

“And she threw a fit when we tried to get her to wear the pretty white dress we bought for her.” Tom added, smiling. “She claimed her wardrobe crisis couldn’t be solved with a white dress.” Adrien couldn’t help but laugh at the story. 

“She really did that?” He somehow managed to control the fit of laughter, but a giggle would still escape every now and then. 

“Yeah.” Tom nodded walking back towards the kitchen’s entrance. “She’s something alright.” He chuckled.

“I guess I better go help her then.” Adrien smiled, walking towards Marinette’s room.

“I guess you should.” Sabine smiled back, waving a hand as he left. “You still owe me.” She said towards Tom after Adrien left. 

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” He sighed. “Still the best bet I’ve ever lost.” He entered the kitchen with a grin on his face. 

"Tikki I look ridiculous.” Marinette sighed, staring at her reflection on the dreary mirror. She had decided to tie her hair back into a pony tail instead of her regular piggy tails. “How does Chloe pull this off?” She groaned, brushing her bangs off her eyes. She looked at her red shirt which was loosely tucked in her frilly black skirt. She wanted to look good, but no matter what she put on she just couldn’t get it right. 

“You look fine Marinette! Really!” Tikki encouraged her. “I’m sure Adrien would agree.” Marinette looked from her reflection to Tikki, smiling softly at her tiny red friend. 

“You think so?” She doubted Tikki, if only a little. Tikki nodded and opened her tiny mouth to respond, but before she could there was a loud knock on the door. 

“Can I come in?” A soft, familiar voice could be heard from under the trap door. 

“N-no! I’m not ready yet.” Marinette said, quickly looking at her closet and hoping she could find something nicer to wear. Tikki rolled her eyes and flew over towards the door, opening it for Adrien. 

“Hi Adrien, come right on in!” She smiled, sitting on his shoulder. “Doesn’t Marinette look nice?” Tikki looked at Marinette grinning, completely ignoring the glares the girl was giving her. 

“Woah.” Adrien mumbled, looking at Marinette up and down. “You look…amazing.” He said walking towards her. “I kind of feel under dressed now.” He chuckled softly, rubbing the nape of his neck nervously. 

"Told you.” Tikki grinned, snickering slightly at the sight of her bright red blushing friend. Plagg, who was asleep inside of Adrien’s shirt pocket, grumbled at the commotion. He yawned and then joined Tikki on Adrien’s shoulder. 

“Aren’t you two going to be late?” Plagg asked leaning slightly on Tikki. 

“He’s right, you should get going.” Tikki smiled brightly, flying off of Adrien’s shoulder and into Marinette’s purse. Plagg nearly fell after his support suddenly flew away. He frowned and pointed a tongue at her before returning to Adrien’s pocket. 

“Right!” Marinette quickly grabbed her sling and put it on, knowing she had to pretend to be injured. 

“How long until you can take that off?” Adrien asked, helping her put it on. 

“A few more weeks.” She answered. “Thank you.” She hated the feeling of her arm being constricted, before it was relieving since it helped ease the pain but now it’s just horrible. 

“That’s great!” He knew how eager Marinette was to take off the sling permanently, she’s expressed the sentiment several times. Suddenly, Plagg popped his head from inside the pocket. 

“Tick tock!” He sighed, thinking that he deserved some cheese for his efforts. Adrien chuckled softly. 

“Lets go.” He smiled, not once breaking eye contact with Marinette. He took her hand and lead her downstairs. The two bid farewell to Marinette’s parents, and Marinette had to drag Adrien out of their shop in a hurry after Sabine and Tom started giving Adrien the infamous “take care of my daughter and don’t do anything stupid” talk. 

“Sorry about that.” Marinette smiled embarrassed, wishing her parents weren’t so nosy and awkward. They walked towards Adrien’s pristine white car, barely noticing Gorilla. 

“There’s really no need to apologize.” He chuckled, opening the car door for her. This was one of the few times he was glad he had his own personal driver. “Your parents are pretty cool.” He entered the car after her, shutting the door. She smiled at him, taking his hand in hers. 

“I’m glad you’re getting along.” She beamed. Adrien felt relieved when he realized how welcoming her parents were. They were nice to him when he came over to her house a long time ago for the video game, but he never realized they’d be open and kind; he didn’t know adults could be so kind and caring. 

“Me too.” He smiled. “Your parents are amazing.” He said looking at her. “At least my dad doesn’t hate you.” He chuckled, a bit embarrassed at the memory of how his dad treated Marinette. His father insisted on meeting her immediately to see if she was worthy of his son. He invited her for dinner, but it was mostly an interrogation. Thankfully Marinette, despite being awfully nervous and shy, answered each question honestly and managed to charm Gabriel. 

“He’ll warm up to me!” Marinette cheered optimistically. “Plus, once you get past the very scary death glares he gives you, he’s actually nice.” When Mr. Agreste found out Marinette aspired to be a fashion designer, he immediately started to be more open with her. In fact, he demanded to see her designs and gave her some tips. 

"Yeah, I’m sure he will.” 

Soon, the two of them reached the club Nino was going to DJ for; they entered the well lit building and almost immediately saw Nino up on the stage. The two made their way towards Nino, barely managing to pass through the massive crowd of dancing teenagers. Marinette never realized that her school had so many kids in their school. When Nino saw them making their way, he smiled and waved towards him. 

“Yo! My man and his lady!” He gave then a wide grin, glad to see them at the party. “Whats up bro?” He extended a fist towards Adrien when they finally reached the stage. 

“Not much Nino.” Adrien smiled, giving him a fist bump. “Sorry we’re late.”

“No biggie dude. Just enjoy the party!” Nino placed a hand on Adrien’s shoulder before focusing on being a DJ again. 

“Your music rocks Nino!” Marinette cheered as she and Adrien left the stage and onto the dance floor. The two started to dance together, nervously at first but as time passed so did their nerves. 

“You’re a great dancer.” Marinette noted. “Then again I did see your dance moves once before.” She giggled remembering the time Chat Noir was “acting” like a park patrol. 

“Thanks! You’re not too bad yourself My Lady.” He winked. The two kept dancing together, but it wasn’t long before they were interrupted by an annoyed blonde. 

"Oh Adrekins!” Chloe chanted in a sing song voice. “Why don’t you dance with me?” She sounded hurt… Marinette couldn’t tell if it was an act or not, but either way she didn’t intend on feeling sorry for the girl. Sabrina was right behind Chloe, ready to defend her at any point in time. 

“Sorry Chloe, but he’s taken.” Marinette grinned victoriously. 

"By who?” The blonde glared at the brunette, challenging her. Strangely enough she kept her distance; Marinette wondered if it was because of the incident a few days back. 

“Me.” Marinette glared back, ready to defend. Adrien wasn’t sure whether or not he should intervene… He still thought of Chloe as a friend even if she was difficult to deal with.

“Fat chance.” Chloe snickered, her sidekick joined behind her. “Get lost and find someone else. Adrien is mine.” She grinned. 

“Yeah, get lost!” Sabrina repeated. Marinette was fuming, Chloe really knew how to get under her skin. Adrien sighed, wishing Chloe would just take the hint. He had been dating Marinette for a few days, the entire class already knows but Chloe seems to refuse to accept it. 

"Why are y-“ Marinette started before feeling a warm hand wrap around her waist. 

“I’m afraid I’m taken right now… and hopefully in the future too. And please, don’t talk like that to my L- my girlfriend.” He said calmly. Chloe frowned, clearly unpleased with his words. 

“Fine, but if you change your mind just call me!” She blew him a kiss and walked away with Sabrina. She may be persistent, but at least she knew when she lost her battles. 

“Woah, what was that about?” Alya asked behind Marinette. “Let me guess, Chloe tried to pull one of her Adrien stunts? When will the girl learn.” Marinette would have jumped surprised had Adrien not been holding her, instead she turned to see her bestie. 

“Pretty much.” Marinette snickered. “Hey Alya.” She waved at her friend. 

“Hey girl.” She looked at Adrien and noticed how he was holding Marinette, and then winked at Marinette to express her approval. “Hey.” She smiled towards the blond boy. “By any chance, did you guys check the latest scoop over at the Ladyblog?” Alya was eager to tell Marinette her recent discovery about Ladybug. Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, Marinette was confused since she didn’t really keep up with the blog (she was Ladybug after all) but Adrien still had a habit of checking the blog at least five times a day… Of course he wasn’t about to tell her that so he decided to feign ignorance. 

“No… What?” Adrien asked, somehow managing to hide the smile that wanted to form. 

"Well, yesterday after the akuma was captured I managed to get this photo.” Alya scrolled through her phone and pulled up a picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir holding hands. “Could they be dating?” Alya inquired, not really waiting for an answer. “I think they are.” She grinned. 

"Who knows, they could be.” Marinette leaned on Adrien. 

"They would definitely be Paris’ greatest couple.” Alya thought aloud. “Don’t you think.”

Adrien and Marinette looked into each others eyes and smiled. “Yeah. They really would.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to take some time to thank all of you for the amazing support you've given me! It's been a tough few weeks with graduation and all that so sorry for the delays in publishing the last few chapters! But thank you for your patience!  
> As for the next fic I'll write next it's become a tie between post apocalypse and marinette find out chat's identity.  
> Unless voted otherwise I might be tempted to go apocalypse and then work with adrien getting found out


	20. Author's Note

Hey guys!  
Sorry to just pop out of the blue like this with a chapter that isn't even a part of the story…  
But I'd just like to say that I'm so grateful for all of the love and the support you guys have given me throughout this fic and even after!!  
Can you believe it's literally been a year since I finished it? And yet I still have the delight of seeing a notification on my phone pop up every once in a while to tell me that someone liked my work.   
I honestly can't believe you guys!! You are so amazing and as an amateur author I am so lucky to have lovely people like you to read one of my works!!!   
I just wanted you to know that I've read every comment you guys have sent me, and I've tried to respond to every single one (if I missed you I'm so sorry I swear that I simply must've forgotten to respond but I'm still eternally grateful)  
You guys have brought such a wonderful feeling of joy!! I'm really happy that I had the chance to share this story I made with you.  
BTW, one of you lovely people (Mushroomy) also did some fan art for this fic. I hope you know I got supper giddy with this and even know I have it screenshotted and kept in one of the folders in my computer for safe keeping. http://hippychu.tumblr.com/post/144051313859/for-sassyangel this is the link to that amazing work!!!   
Again, I'd like to thank ALL of you for having been here for such a wonderful time in my life. My only regret is that I can't go ahead and thank every single one of you individually.   
I wish you all an amazing day, a wonderful week and all that is good!   
Thank you so, so much!!  
~Sassy / mephobicShadow


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